CAN 



CAN 



57 



fered to remain, will spread till the 

 whole tree becomes a mass of gum 

 and canker, and will be killed in a 

 short time. VVIien the trimk is 

 become hollow, cut the loose rot- 

 ten part clean out, till you come 

 to the sound wood, taking care to 

 round the edges of the hollow part ; 

 then apply the composition in a 

 liquid state, laying it on with a 

 painter's brush, wherever the can- 

 kered bark has been pared off, or 

 the dead wood cut out, till these 

 places are entirely covered with 

 it : When that is done shake some 

 of the powder of wood ashes and 

 burnt bones over the composition, 

 and pat it gently down with your 

 hands." See Composition. 



He contends " that if the forego- 

 ing directions bo carefully follow- 

 ed, the canker will be completely 

 eradicated, and the hollow trunk 

 in time be filled up with sound 

 wood. When the stem is much de- 

 cayed, he thinks it will be absolute- 

 ly necessary to open the ground, 

 examine the roots, and cut off all 

 the rotten parts. When you have 

 cut out all the rotten and decayed 

 parts below ground, and scraped 

 the hollow clean, make up a mass 

 of the composition mixed with 

 some clay, like what is used for 

 grafting ; then fill the hollow part 

 with it to within two inches of the 

 surface of the ground, treading it 

 with your foot, or pressing it in 

 with the hand as close as you pos- 

 sibly can, to prevent the wet from 

 penetrating to the roots, and leave 

 the surface of the composition slop- 

 ing from the tree towards the out- 

 side of the border to throw the wet 

 off, which will prevent the fresh 



part of the root from rotting ; then 

 cover the root over with mould lev- 

 el with the rest of the border ;" 

 and when you have examined all 

 the old wounds, where large limbs 

 have been cut off, you should next 

 examine the old bark ; and if you 

 should find the outside of it wrin- 

 kled and cracked, pare it off, as it 

 is always, when in that state, very 

 much hurt by the canker. This 

 should be done with the draw- 

 knife, or other sharp instrument ; 

 then apply the composition as be- 

 fore directed, which will bring on 

 a fine smooth bark under it. In 

 the succeeding winter or spring 

 you will see all the plaster with 

 the old part of the bark that was 

 left in the hollow parts of the tree, 

 or where old branches had been 

 amputated, peeling offand shewing 

 the smooth bark underneath. You 

 should then scrape off,witha wood- 

 en or bone knife, what old bark 

 remains in the hollows where the 

 draw-knife could not reach with- 

 out cutting too much away. When 

 that is done, mix up some fresh 

 cow dung with soap suds and urine, 

 making it very thin, and give the 

 tree a coat of this mixture all over 

 where the bark has been scraped 

 off; the cow-dung will adhere to 

 it, and heal the parts where you 

 were obliged to scrape to the inner 

 bark. This wash will remain till 

 the fresh bark comes on ; when it 

 will be discharged of itself, during 

 the summer or the next spring, 

 leaving a new fresh bark where the 

 old and cankery was taken off. — 

 Next spring if any of the old bark 

 remains, you may repeat the same 

 operation, which will cause all the 



