PACKING, PRUNING, PROTECTION, ETC. 35 



a side branch by strong copper wire, are those most in use. Labels 

 are also made of sheet zinc, written upon with a mixture of two parts 

 (by weight) of verdigris, two of sal-ammoniac, one of lamp-black, 

 and thirty of water. The ingredients are to be mixed in a mortar, 

 with a small portion of water at first, and the whole added after- 

 wards. Preserve the mixture in a well-corked bottle, shaking it 

 repeatedly at first, and keep the cork downwards, to prevent the 

 escape of ammonia, and it will remain fit for use for years. 



If the pieces of zinc are suspended by copper wire, it should be 

 firmly twisted round the zinc, so as not to remain loose, or else the 

 constant motion, from wind, will soon wear off the wire. The wire 

 should be nearly as large as a small knitting-needle, to prevent 

 cracking off by long use. The loop should be large, arid passed round 

 a side-shoot, instead of a main branch, to prevent the danger of cut- 

 ting in by the growth of the tree, and should be attached below a 

 small fork, to prevent its blowing off the end of the branch. 



The wire may be wholly dispensed with by the following contriv- 

 ance : cut the zinc "into long triangular strips, half an inch wide and 

 six to ten inches long. Draw the narrow or slender end round the 

 twig, bring it through a hole punched mid-way between the ends, and 

 clinch or twist it with the fingers or a small pair of pincers. These 

 labels may be punched by a tinman at a cheap rate. 



Sheet tin may be used instead of zinc, using a sharp awl to write 

 the name, and being particular to cut through the tin coating. Oxyda- 

 tion soon renders the letters distinct. Common pasteboard printed 

 with printers' ink has recently been introduced. 



Protection. It often happens that young orchard trees are injured 

 by sheep and rabbits. A simple method for protection is to take 

 three strips of common lath, set them up around the tree, and with 

 strong wire secure them one to another. If closely placed, they will 

 also serve to protect in a great measure from mice ; but for protec- 

 tion from the latter, strong "hardware paper," as it is termed, 

 secured around the tree by fine wire, and coated with* coal tar, 

 is best. 



The form of young trees most desirable for planting, are those so 

 grown as to present a regular tapering form of stem from the root to 

 the terminal bud. This is only obtained by permitting the side 

 branches to grow, and be regularly shortened-in in the nursery, so 

 that not only the stem but the whole tree presents the form of a pyra- 

 mid. One tree so grown is worth more to the planter than ten grown 

 with long slender stems of uniform size, six or seven feet high. A 

 tree rightly grown (as first described) will have double the quantity 

 of roots, and when removed will need no staking, while the latter will 

 require staking four or five years, and then never make a fine tree. 



