140 



around in there to get them after they are in, th^t we will 

 very largely eliminate a great deal of this so-called collar 

 rot and crown rot and King disease and all that sort of 

 thing. I can give you what I consider the characteristics 

 of a coat that should be used on the base. In the first place, 

 it should be safe; in the second place, it should be easily 

 applied; thind, it should be cheap; fourth, it should be 

 somewhat elastic so that it will increase in size without 

 cracking as the tree grows; and fifth, it should be prefer- 

 ably light-colored so as to reflect the sun's rays instead of 

 absorbing them and increasing the danger of sun scald or 

 winter injury. Now, as I have followed them through, the 

 lime-sulfur concentrate, more or less mixed with sediment, 

 plus a sticker, comes as near having all those characteristics 

 as any one single coating that I know of, but that sticker is 

 the "sticker," when we come down to getting the right one. 

 We have been able to hold it on the tree all right by the 

 addition of a little iron sulphate, but that changes the color 

 to dark instead of light, and I don't know how much of an 

 objection that is going to be. I believe as soon as we can 

 get a little better sticker, that that is a very good start. 

 There are a few oher kinds : we have used white lead and 

 oil on the base of the tree, mixed with pure linseed oil, with- 

 out turpentine or any other dryer in it, and it has never 

 given us any material damage. It has the proper color, but 

 it does roughen the bark and is not elastic enough, in my 

 opinion: , . , • 



QUESTION. How near do you. put the mulch? . 



DR. STEWART. We always try to keep it at least 

 six inches awaj^ from the base of the tree. That is one of 

 the important points in the work against the mice. 



MR. FRASER OF NEW YORK. (Mr. Fraser illus- 

 trates the putting up of a wire guard around the tree),. 



• MR. GRAY. You told us when you used nitrate of 

 soda, but you- didn't say when you apply the other ma- 

 terials. 



DR. STEWART. We put them all on as a complete 

 mixture at the same time we apply the nitrates, because, so 

 far as I have been able to determin eithr from our own re- 

 sults or those of anybody' else, the time of application of the 

 other materials is of little importance, so that you might 



