32 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



It is nothing uncommon to see a limb cut off leaving a stump 

 from two to three inches long on the tree. Aside from .the un- 

 sightly appearance such a wound can never heal over. The limb 

 should be sawed off as close as possible to the stem, and then 

 smoothly trimmed with a chisel or sharp knife. 



The president mentioned an article in the " Gardeners' Monthly," 

 in which the benefit of scraping trees was asserted, and a 

 suggestion that this operation would probably have a good 

 effect in preventing the cracking of the White Doyenne pear, 

 was regarded as probably correct. He called on Robert Man- 

 ning for his views in regard to the subject. 



Mr. Manning said he desired first to correct the statement in 

 the " Gardeners' Monthly," that a committee of the Massachusetts 

 Horticultural Society asserted that much good resulted from 

 scraping the rough bark from fruit trees. He was under the 

 impression that the report* of the committee was to the contrary 

 effect, and on referring to it he found his impression correct. In 

 regard to the benefit of scraping trees his views agreed with those 

 of the committee rather than with those of the " Gardeners' 

 Monthly." The roughness of the bark was the natural effect of 

 age, and was seen in the healthiest trees. It might be prema- 

 turely produced, but in this case scraping it off would no more 

 reach the cause of the trouble than scraping off the pustules from 

 a man's face would cure him of small-pox. The remedy must go 

 deeper. The difference between the roughness of the bark caused 

 by age in a vigorous tree and that produced prematurely by 

 neglect was well known to experienced orchardists, though diffi- 

 cult to describe. In the former case the scales would be larger and 

 part more freely from the under portions ; in the latter, they would 

 be small, indurated, and cling closely to the bark beneath. The 

 remedy is to renew the vigor of the tree by good cultivation and 

 liberal manuring. The wash used many years since by the late 

 Capt. Lovett, of clay, cowdung, ashes, and sulphur, was spoken of 

 as preferable to lime-wash. Mr. Manning mentioned instances 

 where the bark of trees which presented a soft, green, healthy 

 appearance, had, when exposed to the sun by cutting off the limbs, 



♦This report was printed, but tliere is now no cojjy in the possession of the society. 

 If any member has a spare copy, it would make an acceptable addition to the library. 



