J 



78 General Care of Trees 



ings or leaves should be added. If this is done in the fall 

 the tree will be invigorated with new life, the winter moist- 

 ure will penetrate, and new rootlets will form in larger 

 numbers, for root activity continues long after the fall 

 of leaves. In the spring the sod may be re-established, 

 although badly starved trees will be benefited by keeping 

 them mulched for a few seasons. The mulch should not 

 be too thick, just enough to prevent the pattering rain from 

 compacting the soil, and to prevent evaporation from it; 

 this may be attained by a co\'cr not heavier than one-half 

 to one incli. Nor should the mulch be allowed to become 

 compacted itself, so as to impede free penetration of water 

 and air. 



There is not much value in making this application close 

 around the stem; it is under the trough of the outer fohage, 

 under the ambitus of the crown, that the main feeding root- 

 lets are located, and here the treatment Avill most benefit 

 the patient. 



On shallow and very compact clay soils this treatment 

 should be frequently repeated, and possibly at the same 

 time some sand or garden mold should be worked into the 

 soil, or else an application of lime, marl, or gypsum may be 

 made, which has the effect of granulating a stiff soil, making 

 it porous and thus improving its water-conducting capacity. 

 The application of slacked lime, as free as possible from 

 magnesia, should be made during the winter in small re- 

 peated doses at the rate of about one to three pounds per 

 hundred square feet. 



Watering, where practicable, will, of course, overcome 

 the effects of drouth; but it must be kept in mind that a 

 surplus of water may become injurious by reducing aera- 

 tion. Often, the mere loosening of the soil is sufficient to 

 correct the deficiency in water-supply: the loose surface 



