CHAPTER X 

 CARE OF OLD TREES. 



ONE frequently sees, in old gardens especially, trees which, although aged 

 and decrepit, are still precious because of their history and associations, 

 or valued perhaps for their size and rarity. There can be no question 

 that the term of years of many such trees is shortened by neglect and 

 wrong treatment. The commonest sources of decay are starvation at the 

 root, droughty summers, and fungoid parasites. For remedying the first 

 the notes on MULCHING (p. 38) should be consulted; the second, of 

 course, is a question of water supply; but these two together do not 

 hasten the end of trees so much as disease, due to the entry of parasitic 

 fungi. The most important of all matters concerning the longevity of 

 trees is the maintenance of a whole skin. But there are many ways in 

 which it may be broken. Insects may bore through the bark, frost 

 sometimes ruptures it, and winds break off the branches and twigs. The 

 last is the commonest source of decay, augmented often enough in 

 gardens by the practice of leaving stumps so long that the bark cannot 

 grow over them (adverted to above), and by leaving raw surfaces un- 

 protected by tar. The raw or jagged surfaces afford a resting-place for 

 moisture and fungus-spores, decay commences and gradually finds its way 

 inwards, until the trunk is reached. But if branches or snags are sawn 

 off as advised above, and the wounds kept covered with tar, the new bark 

 commences to creep over the cut surface from both sides until, if it be 

 not too large, it fills up to the middle, and forms a perfect covering for 

 the wound, of which, in time, all evidences disappear. 



Treatment of Hollows in Trees. From what has just been written 

 it will be seen that the formation of hollows by decay in the branches 

 and trunks of trees is to a great extent preventable. With regard to 

 hollows that already exist, the following treatment is recommended. 

 First remove all, or as much as possible, of the decayed wood, especially 

 the soft, brown, crumbling wood, and the soppy mass found at the bottom. 

 Sound dead wood that has become dry and hard does not matter. Then 

 wash the surface of the wood with a solution of carbolic acid or with 



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