144 



MANUAL OF GARDENING 



158. How a horse may be hitched to a 

 tree. 



guard is one of the best. 

 There are good forms of 

 tree guards on the market. 

 Of course hitching-posts 

 should be provided, wher- 

 ever horses are to stand, to 

 remove the temptation of 

 hitching to trees. Figure 

 158, however, shows a very 

 good device when a hitching 

 post is not wanted. A 

 strong stick, four or five 

 feet long, is secured to the 

 tree by a staple and at the 

 lower end of the stick is a 

 short chain with a snap in the end. The snap is secured to 

 the bridle, and the horse is not able to reach the tree. 



Mice and rabbits. 



Trees and bushes are often seriously injured by the gnawing 

 of mice and rabbits. The best preventive is not to have the 

 vermin. If there are no places in which rabbits and mice can 

 burrow and breed, there will be little difficulty. At the approach 

 of winter, if mice are feared, the dry litter should be removed 

 from about the trees, or it should be packed down very firm, so 

 that the mice cannot nest in it. If the rodents are very abun- 

 dant, it may be advisable to wrap fine wire netting about the 

 base of the tree. A boy who is fond of trapping or hunting will 

 ordinarily solve the rabbit difficulty. Rags tied on sticks 

 which are placed at intervals about the plantation will often 

 frighten rabbits away. 



Girdled trees. 



Trees that are girdled by mice should be wrapped up as soon 

 as discovered, so that the wood shall not become too dry. When 



