PRUNING 37 



One or two lengths of 4 to 5 inch porous tile buried upright in the 

 ground with the top of the upper tile flush with the surface, will pro- 

 vide a receptacle for receiving and distributing water to the roots. 

 Two or three of these properly spaced are enough for the average 

 large tree. Rocks are sometimes used in the place of the tile. 



Tree roots will naturally seek a source of moisture. When tile 

 drains are laid near trees it is necessary to use vitrified, bell-jointed tile 

 with cemented joints to keep the tile from becoming infested with 

 roots. 



How TO STIMULATE GROWTH IN OLD TREES 



New life can sometimes be given old trees by supplying concen- 

 trated plant food. Bone meal is good for this purpose and is applied 

 by pouring it into holes about one inch in diameter. Sometimes the 

 sod is lifted up and the fertilizer applied beneath it. Apply the fertil- 

 izer at the root tips. Charges of dynamite are sometimes set off to 

 break up the soil about the roots, but this is a dangerous practice unless 

 the handling of dynamite is thoroughly understood. 



