742 



AMERICAN FORFSTItt 



reason, is it far preferable to paint for covering 

 wotmdft, but also because it has die advantage of 



being more lasting and does not peel a> paint does. 



Some people bandage the bruise of a tree 

 with burlap or cloth. This is not advisable be- 

 cause disease will set in more readily under the 

 prot ec t io n of a bandage than it would when the 

 wound is freely exposed to the air. For the 

 same reason the method of covering wounds with 

 tin is equally bad. 



When we consider the care required in the 

 treatment of a tree bruise, does it not seem that 

 we are e.\|>ecting a great deal from the trees that 

 we plant along our city streets? We plant them 

 in a cement pavement, alongside of a deep set 

 curb-stone, with more pavement on the street 

 surface and leave them to draw food and water 

 from the hard packed clay. Then the bark may 

 be injured, the direct channel for sap supply cut 

 off and still we expect them to survive and 

 wonder why they do not. 



Owners of trees who see their trees failing 

 and do not know the cause often spend money 

 needlessly in engaging some tree surgeon to treat 

 it Let us suggest to these people that they write 

 to American Forestry, describe the tree and 

 its general condition as best they can, and advice 

 as to what to do for it and what is affecting the 

 tree will be given free of charge. 



NEGLECT AND THEN DESTRUCTION 



This once fine tree, first damaged by boys tearing off a strip of the bark, was neglected. No 

 attention was paid to the wound and the tree gradually rotted until it became so weakened 

 t nat it toppled over during a wind storm. 1 he owner of the house, lamentingits loss, declared 

 he would have given $100 rather than have the tree destroyed. All he need have given 

 was a few minutes' time and a few cents' worth of coal tar, and a wire guard when it was 

 first injured. 



ADVICE FOR 



1. In December fertilize with well-rotted manure all 

 weakened or backward trees and all valuable specimens 

 on the lawn. Dig the manure into the soil around the 

 tips of the roots away from the trunk to the tree. Do 

 not expose the roots and be careful not to mutilate the 

 large roots. 



2. Bolt all trees that are likely to split. The old- 

 fashioned band placed around the trunk or branch of the 

 tree is bound to become too tight for it and eventually 

 girdle it. Bolting is much better, and does not injure 

 the tree. 



3. Commence cutting down all trees marked for re- 

 moval during the early fall. Segregate the trees infested 

 with boring insects and disease and see that the infested 

 wood is burnt before next May. This applies particularly 



DECEMBER 



to such trees as those infested with the hickory bark beetle 

 in hickories, the two-lined chestnut borer in oaks, and 

 the bronze birch borer in birches. 



4. This is a good season to look over your spraying 

 apparatus and to see that the machinery and hose are in 

 good order. You will need the spraying apparatus in early 

 March on your apple and pear trees. 



5. Take care of neglected wounds on your trees, 

 cutting off any loose bark and coating the exposed wood 

 with tar. This will prevent decay and aid in healing 

 the wound. 



6. Repair tree guards on the street and avenue trees. 

 See that they are in good order and that they have not 

 grown too tight for the tree during the past growing 

 season. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 



Q. I have a Baldwin apple tree that has not yet come into 

 bearing, which is four or five years old. This fall 1 have 

 noticed in numerous places a little bunch of blue-white mildew, 

 almost resembling a very small piece of cotton, and where this 

 condition exists, there is a swelling of the branch. Can you 

 tell me just what this is. and the proper treatment for it? During 

 the summer the branches have increased in length to a great 

 extent, the topmost branch of the tree now extending possibly 

 8 feet high, and the trunk is possibly 2'A inches in diameter. 

 Should a tree of its age be pruned at this time ? 



M K. P.. Newark. New Jersey. 



A. From your description I judge that the tree has been 

 infested with plant lice and the bet remedy would be to wash the 



affected parts with a lime sulphur solution, one part of lime sul- 

 phur to ten parts of water. 



If the branches have grown scraggly and very long, it is well 

 to cut in lightly, making the crown more compact. This should 

 he done in March. 



Q. Can you give me advice about the bag-worm and the 

 Tussock moth? 



L. B Indianapolis. Indiana. 



A. The Tussock moth belongs to the Gypsy and Brown Tail 

 moths and is among the most common in the eastern states. It 

 spends its winter in an egg form, hatches in early June, the cat- 

 erpillars feeding all of June and part of July, and transforming 



