little assistance. Years ago careful orchardists used to apply 

 grafting-wax and other preparations to wounds, but later ex- 

 perience has proven that nothing is better than good, thick 

 paint (no matter what color). It should be applied to all 

 wounds more than half an inch in diameter. All large wounds 

 should be painted twice a year. Photo 1 7. 



"//<?r ; large a limb can I cut /" is a question frequently 



asked. Let photo 19 answer this. Here is a wound nearly two feet long. It has been 

 well painted, and granulation is setting in finely, especially where the boy's right hand 

 is. This limb constituted nearly one-fourth of the tree, but it made the tree lop-sided. 

 In looking at this photo your back is supposed to be to the east. Photo 20 is the same 

 tree with your back to the north. By this you will learn that the cut was made in a 

 straight, perpendicular line with the main trunk, or, if anything, a little "dished," so 

 that when it heals the line will be straight. In photo 21 is a large wound more than 

 half healed over, and in 22 is a wound on an oak, 15 inches in diameter, completely healed 

 in the most perfect manner. Small-sized wounds (3 or 4 inches in diameter) will heal 

 over, if the cut is made in the right place, even though the wound be not dressed. 

 Photo 12 (from a horse-chestnut tree) presents this fact. Photo 13 is the same piece 

 turned around. Beneath that nicely healed wound was a rotten mass of wood fibre 

 running into the main branch 5 or 6 inches. The poor tree, however, was not to 

 blame. The evil must be charged up to some " tree butcher." Photo 14 shows you two 

 specimens from an elm tree. They were properly cut and well dressed. Photo 15 is the 

 same reversed. You can see, even in the photo, that the wood is solid. The " hearts,"' 

 or dark centers, are so hard that if you tap on them they sound like metal. 



" When is the proper time to prune?" This question comes from almost everyone 

 interested in a tree or plant. Many excellent authorities advocate winter pruning. While 

 I have no serious objection to offer against the fall and winter months; yet, most decid- 

 edly, I have had the best results in the growing season. Everyone, however, should 

 avoid pruning when the sap starts into an active flow, for two reasons. First, the bark 

 will very easily strip down, even on small branches; and second, the sap is thin and flows 

 so copiously that it is sometimes almost impossible to make paint adhere to the wound. 

 There is a common rule among the German fanners (and it's a good one), "start U> 

 prune when the apple trees are in bloom." The sap has then become sufficiently thick- 

 ened that the tree will not " bleed." Moreover, you can then see^all dead or defective 

 13 



