ORNAMENTAL AND SHADE TREES 



297 



O. In the forest under my care there are a number 

 of historic trees, some of them battle-scarred, which I 

 wish to preserve. Some of these trees are quite old and 

 beginning to show serious signs of deterioration. These, 

 I wish to care for by cleaning, properly treating and fill- 

 ing all cavities. As a member of your association, I 

 take the liberty of asking for such information as may 

 be at your command regarding work of this kind. What 

 I particularly desire to know is the proper chemical to 

 use in painting the wood before filling is made. Some 

 of these veterans have died, and I wish to preserve their 

 trunks standing, as high as 8 or 10 feet. Can you 

 tell me what chemical should be applied to the exterior 

 of these stumps to best preserve them? 



D. L. R., Pittsburg Landing, Tenn. 



A. Trees with decayed cavities should have the lat- 

 ter cleaned out thoroughly and freed from decayed wood ; 

 the interior of the cavity should be painted with creosote 

 and then a coating of coal tar. After that, if the cavity 

 happens to be very deep and likely to hold moisture, it 

 may be filled with cement and bricks as set forth in the 

 article sent under separate cover, which will give you a 

 complete description of this sort of work, its remedies 

 and possibilities. 



As to the stumps which you want preserved, I would 

 suggest painting those with creosote. This material is the 

 best preservative as well as the least obtrusive looking. 

 Of course, in any of these cases, if the trunks or cavities 

 are so badly covered with fungi that the latter can not 

 be eliminated, it is not worth keeping them because the 

 fungi are bound to turn the wood into dust in course of 

 time. 



ADVICE FOR MAY 

 April and May is the time for planting and because of 

 the short season to do this work all other forms of at- 

 tention are generally subordinated to the planting work. 

 The following brief notes on planting may, therefore, 

 prove timely. 



CARE OF TREES AND SHRUBS ON ARRIVAL 



Before the plants arrive, dig a trench from two to four 

 feet wide, one foot deep and long enough to hold them all. 



As soon as the trees or shrubs arrive, untie the bundles, 

 keeping each kind separately, and place the plants in 

 the trench temporarily until they can be set out in their 

 proper places. Very carefully cover the roots with earth 

 and give a copious watering. In unpacking the plants, in 

 placing them in the trench, or at any other time, be care- 

 ful not to expose their roots, even for a moment, to sun 

 or wind, and at all times keep the roots moist. 



Check up the number and kinds of plants received and 

 O. K. the lists submitted with the stock. 



HOW TO PLANT 



1. Determine the location of the plants and prepare 

 the holes. 



2. Plant when the frost is out of the ground. 



3. Keep tne roots well protected from the minute the 

 tree leaves the wagon to the minute it is planted. Do not 

 take off more plants from the wagon than is absolutely 

 necessary. 



4. Cut all broken roots and cover wounds with coal tar. 



5. Cut back the branches, but do not remove them 

 entirely unless they interfere or are too thick. With 

 some trees like the sycamore or oak or poplar, you can 

 cut back more than with others. Do not cut the leader, 

 and do not cut evergreens. 



6. Let only good soil come in close contact with the 

 roots, and have the good soil well packed around the 

 roots ; work it in with the fingers and stamp on it. Place 

 the poor soil only on top. 



7. See that the tree is planted upright and firm. 



8. Plant the tree no deeper than it stood in the nursery. 



9. Water the plant only after all soil has been put 

 around its roots and the hole filled. 



10. Leave the place clean and do not leave tools behind. 



WHAT TO DO AFTER PLANTING 



1. Cultivate and Water. It should be borne in mind 

 that when a tree is transplanted, no matter how carefully 

 the work is done it is impossible to take up the entire 

 root root system, and therefore, before it is able to care 

 for itself, new roots must be formed to take hold of the 

 soil. In the meantime the moisture is being continually 

 evaporated from the trunk and branches by the action of 

 the wind and sun, and this must be balanced by an arti- 

 ficial supply. During the dry spells and hot weather of 

 the following season, the soil around the base of the tree, 

 for a space wider than the hole, should be stirred up 

 and watered. Watering during the first summer is very 

 essential and more important than watering during subse- 

 quent summers. The water should not be sufficient to 

 make the ground soggy. Two pails of water applied to 

 each tree on a city street twice a week is enough. On 

 lawns and for smaller trees, the quantity of water will 

 be much less, and in woodland a little water three or four 

 times during the summer is sufficient. 



2. Fertilise. In the fall, a layer of old manure or leaf 

 mold, 3 to 4 inches thick, should be spread over 

 the surface around the tree to a distance of a foot or two 

 beyond the lines of the newly filled hole. This treatment 

 will enrich the soil, shade the ground and help to hold 

 the moisture. 



NEW STYLE OF FARM GATE 



A WISCONSIN lumberman has begun to do his 

 share in the extension of the lumber industry 

 by marketing a wooden farm gate, of a special 

 design, solid lumber, and solid hanging, which is painted 

 yellow with the name of the owner or occupant of the 

 farm in black, with his rural route number. The experi- 

 ment resulted in the sale of three hundred gates in a 

 single Wisconsin county in one month, and in cleaning up 

 the lumberman's yard of short and almost unmarketable 

 material. 



