HOLLOW TRUNKS 15 



insect and fungoid pests, and those that are 

 unfavourably situated in mining and chemical 

 areas, should be scantily dealt with ; but the 

 practical woodman will see at a glance which 

 trees are best worthy of his attention and 

 treatment. 



Probably the simplest, certainly the cheapest, 

 method of dealing with diseased and hollow 

 trunks is to clean out thoroughly all dead and 

 decaying matter, the interior being scraped 

 and swept with a rough brush, so that the 

 loose rotting wood and bark are removed. 

 When quite dry, the interior of the trunk 

 should be painted with one or, preferably, 

 two coats of creosote or carbolineum, and 

 filled up with a composition of one part of 

 Portland cement to three of clean gravel and 

 sand, the surface coating at the orifice contain- 

 ing the largest quantity of cement. A coat of 

 coal-tar on top of the dry creosote goes far in 

 making the concrete adhere to the wood. 



When a fairly healthy tree is being operated 

 upon, and when the bark is likely to grow 

 over the exposed surface, the concrete should 

 only be brought up on a level with the under 



