28 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 397 



In the case of permanent guying, however, two eyebolts may be placed on oppo- 

 side sides of the tree trunk, one about six inches above the other and two wires 

 fastened to each. 



Bridge Grafting. An injured part of a tree to be bridged by a graft should re- 

 ceive as preliminary treatment the same protection given any other wound. 

 In the spring, at which time the grafting is to be performed, the wound should be 

 inspected and the adjacent bark cut back evenly with a Heavy pruning knife to 

 provide the wound with edges of tightly fittmg, healthy tissue. 



The young shoots or scions to be used in bridging the wound should be in a 

 healthy condition but completely dormant. To injure dormancy in scions, 

 pruned from the tree being treated or a similar one, it is advisable to cut twigs 

 about the diameter of a lead pencil to the desired length before the buds swell in 

 the early spring and store them under conditions which will prevent drying out. 

 A good method is to bury them on the north side of a building where warming of 

 the soil in spring is delayed. A protective covering wrapped about them will pre- 

 vent direct contact with the soil and a board over all will insure against water 

 soaking of the scions in the event of seepage into the ground during heavy rains. 



Immediately prior to their use, scions should be sharpened or beveled by long 

 sloping cuts in order to form thin wedge-shaped ends which may be pushed well 

 under the bark without noticeably separating it from the growing layer. The 

 entrance points for scions are provided by extending cuts vertically for about 

 two inches from the wound at each point where a scion is to be inserted. The cut 

 bark at the upper end of the wound should then be raised i,lightly and one end of 

 the prepared , scion slipped into place. The other end of the scion is then inserted 

 in similar fashion into the cut bark at the lower end of the wound. For most 

 satisfactory results, the scions should be approximately in line with the grain 

 of the wood and of sufficient length to arch somewhat over the bridged area. 

 Small brads will hold the ends of scions in correct position, and liquid wax freely 

 applied to the upper and lower wound edges and to the edges of the attached scions 

 will prevent drying out. The number of scions required will depend upon the 

 size of the area to be bridged. 



Disposal of Stumps. Two general methods for the disposal of tree stumps may 

 be employed. The stump may be removed entire from its site by aid of root 

 pruning and the use of heavy apparatus, or the stump may be destroyed in place 

 by burning or other means. If the former method is used, there may be certain 

 advantages to retaining a portion of the butt for purposes of leverage. Details 

 of this method are omitted here, however, since the use of heavy apparatus re- 

 quires the services of experienced operators. 



The destruction of a stump in its site, when it cannot be readily disposed of 

 otherwise, may be accomplished in a reasonably simple manner after completing 

 certain necessary preparations. The part of the sti mp above ground should be 

 reduced as much as possible by cutting off the trunlc as near to the ground line 

 as convenient. Generally, in the case of a storm-uprooted tree, this operation 

 will be most satisfactorily completed by working on the tree without attempting 

 to free it from any position in which it may have become securely fixed. Upright 

 stumps may present some difficulty, while in the case of uprooted trees the dis- 

 posal is already partly accomplished. Having eliminated much of the stump 

 above ground, the next step is to reduce the underground stump. Removal of 

 the soil so as to form a circular trench, followed by progressive digging toward the 

 ball of the root, may consume time, but careful attention to this detail is essential 

 for later satisfactory progress. 



