go REPORT OF THE FOREST COMMISSION. 



mills, are still preying upon tree owners. The fact that many 

 trees need spraying, pruning or filling, that many chestnuts are 

 dead of the blight and must be removed, induces property owners 

 to listen to these men. There are, however, entirely reputable 

 parties to be found to do any necessary work oi this kind. Tree 

 owners are warned against men who promise to cure a tree oi 

 any ill, and who come without recognized credentials. No chest- 

 nut tree can be cured of the blight; a wound badly filled or un- 

 necessarily filled would be better left open (Fig. 23), and a tree 

 that is sprayed carelessly or with wrong material will not be 

 benefited any more than a tree that is butchered under a pretence 

 of being pruned. In short, it is a waste of money to pay un- 

 known men for any work of this kind. And if dead trees are to 

 be sold it is well to remember that the wood is not useless, but that 

 in most cases it has a value much greater than is represented by 

 the cost of removing it. Those who have work of this kind to do 

 are advised to seek assistance from the local shade tree commis- 

 sion, or if help cannot be secured in that way to apply to the 

 Forest Commission, to the State Entomologist or to the State 

 Plant Pathologist. 



