152 TREE WOUNDS AND DISEASES 



as also in Epping Forest, the trees have suffered 

 greatly, and in some instances been killed out- 

 right, by the fouling of these birds. 



Squirrels commit damage by eating the 

 buds of hard-wooded and coniferous trees, 

 while young larch and other plantations suffer 

 much in the way of bark-peeling and gnaw- 

 ing of the tender wood. The larch and 

 Scotch pine are most frequently attacked, 

 and whole plantations in Ireland and Scotland 

 have at times suffered severely from repeated 

 onslaughts of this animal. Not only is the 

 bark peeled off, but in the case of young larch 

 plantations the top shoots at a distance of from 

 six to eight feet from the crown of the trees 

 are often irreparably damaged by the gnawing 

 of the squirrel. 



The bark all round the stem is gnawed and 

 peeled off, with the result that, upwards from 

 the attacked part, the top dies off, and is 

 broken across in stormy weather. In the case 

 of injured tops, it is advisable to have these 

 carefully cut back to the sound bark, and the 

 strongest side branch substituted as a leader. 



Squirrels are particularly fond of the flower- 



