166 THE APPLE CULTUtilST. 



tender twigs, hook the tops, and break the stems down by 

 rubbing unceremoniously against the bodies of young trees ; 

 and sheep, calves, and goats will frequently gnaw off all the 

 bark within their reach. Horses, mules, and neat-cattle 

 should never be allowed to run loosely in a young orchard. 

 Sheep may run in an orchard if the bodies of the trees are 

 first protected. The most convenient manner of protecting 

 from sheep, goats, calves, rabbits, and mice, is to procure 

 strong, coarse paper, or some coarse, cheap canvas ; cut it 

 in strips of the right breadth to wrap around the tree, and 

 lap not less than two inches. If a piece is passed twice 

 around, it will do no harm. Then secure the edge by driv- 

 ing large tack-nails carpet-tacks into the tree. Then 

 apply a coat of coal-tar to the paper or cloth. Such cov- 

 ering should be removed during the summer. We have 

 never heard of a protection that is equal to this for cheap- 

 ness and efficiency. Such material may be taken off the 

 fore part of every summer, and kept till the leaves have 

 fallen. Small nails driven into a tree will not injure it. In 

 many localities, when snow drifts deep around trees, rabbits 

 will run on the surface and gnaw the bark, if not protected 

 five or six feet from the ground. If coal- 

 tar be applied to the bodies of young trees, 

 there is danger that the poisonous mate- 

 rial in it will injure the bark. I once ap 

 plied coal-tar to a valuable apple-tree ten 

 years old ; and in less than eight months 

 every root and branch was killed by the 

 tar. 



Fig.. 68 represents a young tree having 

 the stem wrapped with tarred paper, and a 

 mound of earth cast up around it, to turn 

 Protected from mice, away field-mice. When a mound of earth 



rabbits, sheep, and . , ., -. .-, j 



goats. is placed around a tree, the tarred paper 



