132 



TREES AND SHRUBS 



itself. With the softer-wooded trees like the Horse- 

 Chestnuts disease frequently reaches the heart of the 

 tree quickly by these means. A coating of liquid tar 

 over the wound, renewed once or twice until the 

 new bark has closed over, is a sure protection against 

 these evils. 



A good deal may be done in the early training of 



a tree to so control its 

 building up that it may 

 best withstand the vio- 

 lence of gales. And 

 the most important mat- 

 ter in this connexion is 

 the development of a 

 strong erect trunk, a 

 central axis of such 

 height and strength and 

 bulk as to be capable 

 of supporting its head 

 of branches easily. In 



When a broken stump, such as is , , . , 



here shown, has to be sawn off, the Other words the leading 







shoot should 



watched, and, by the re- 

 pression of any rival leaders that may appear, allowed 

 to retain its predominance. In the best English 

 nurseries only trees with good " leads " are sent out. 

 Trees decayed in the centre, with only an outer 

 layer of healthy wood, are, of course, doomed, but 

 by filling up all holes in the earlier stages of decay, 

 and thus keeping out moisture, their term of life can 

 be lengthened by many years. 



