730 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



sterilized and waterproofed. The sheet 

 metal should be trimmed so that its 

 edges will exactly fit along the edges 

 of the bark. The metal can then be 

 placed on a block of wood and holes 

 an inch or less apart punched or drilled 

 along its margin, through which long, 

 slender, flat-headed brads may be 

 driven into the ledge of wood around 

 the cavity. The edges of the cavity and 

 the inner side of the metal should now 

 be freshly tarred. The metal is then 

 put in place and nailed with a light 

 hammer, allowing the center of the 

 metal to curve outward, so as to con- 

 form to the general shape of the trunk 

 (Plate No. 6, figure 2). 



In a tree which is not considered of 

 sufficient value to warrant cleaning and 

 filling the decayed areas or covering 

 them with tin, these may be excavated, 

 sterilized, and waterproofed (Plate 

 No. 6, figure 5). In this condition they 

 can often be safely left for years if 

 the waterproof covering is renewed as ^ 

 soon as cracks or blisters appear. 



THE TIME FOR SURGERY. 



As a general rule, tree surgery can 

 be safely undertaken at almost any time 

 of the year when the sap is not running 

 too actively and the weather is not cold 

 enough to freeze the cement. In most 

 trees the sap will interfere with the 

 work only from the time the buds 

 begin to expand in the spring until the 



leaves are full grown. Cement work 

 will be ruined if it is frozen before it 

 is hard. It is not likely to be injured 

 by frost after it has been drying for 

 a week. 



TREES WORTH REPAIRING. 



Most ornamental and shade trees hav- 

 ing only a few dead limbs are unques- 

 tionably worth attention. Others which 

 have many dead limbs or numerous 

 decayed areas may not be worth the 

 expense, particularly if they are nat- 

 urally rapid-growing, short-lived trees. 

 No one can decide better than the own- 

 er of a tree whether it is worth the 

 attempt to save it, because usually the 

 actual commercial value of an orna- 

 mental or shade tree has little or noth- 

 ing to do with the decision. It is gen- 

 erally a question merely of esthetic 

 value, or historic associations, or rarity 

 of the species. A man who has had ex- 

 terience in repairing mutilated .or 

 tiseased trees may be able to say defi- 

 nitely whether it is possible to save the 

 tree, but the owner, who pays the bill, 

 is the one who will have to decide 

 whether the tree is worth the price it 

 will take to repair it. Often the owner 

 will realize a greater degree of satis- 

 faction by having a badly diseased or 

 mutilated tree replaced. In expert 

 hands the moving of large trees is no 

 longer a hazardous undertaking. 



STUDYING THE LUMBER 

 INDUSTRY 



WORK has been commenced by 

 the Forest Service and the 

 Department of Commerce 

 in the scientific study of the 

 lumber industry for the purpose of de- 

 veloping the economic facts concern- 

 ing the industry and placing them 

 before the public in a fair and impartial 

 manner. The lumber manufacturers 

 have very generally signified their will- 

 ingness to cooperate in furnishing the 

 representatives of the departments 



named the information which will aid 

 them in this work. 



Chief Forester Graves, of the Forest 

 Service, indicates the fair and open- 

 minded basis on which this study is to 

 be conducted in saying: 



"It is my purpose to set the facts 

 ascertained before the public, neces- 

 sarily from the point of view of the 

 interests of the people at large, but 

 with absolute impartiality and fairness 

 to the industry. I propose to make the 



