Depredations 289 



MISCELLANEOUS INJURIES 



The fruit-grower will not expect to find all his troubles 

 explained in a book. There are some difficulties that he 

 must solve alone and for himself. Yet some of the acci- 

 dents that his trees are almost sure to meet sooner or 

 later may be discussed briefly. 



Depredations of live-stock. 



Injuries of trees can be prevented in sheep pastures 

 and hog pastures by giving the animals plenty to eat and 

 especially plenty to drink. They are very likely to gnaw 

 the trees for the moisture. If, however, the animals begin 

 to injure the trees, the only recourse is either to take them 

 out or to build wide racks about the trunks; but any sort 

 of rack or fence prevents the proper care of the tree. Cer- 

 tain animals in a herd of swine may be specially vicious 

 about trees, and they should be removed. Horned cattle 

 (or cattle of any kind) are not in place in an orchard. If 

 the orchard adjoins a pasture, the fences should be kept 

 in good repair. 



Birds. 



The incursions of birds in cherries and small-fruits 

 may sometimes be overlooked by planting in such quantity 

 that the birds may get their fill without ruining the 

 plantation. Cherry orchards may sometimes be pro- 

 tected by planting a number of trees of very early sweet 

 varieties around the outside of the field. Some persons 

 advise the free planting of mulberries to feed the birds; 

 but they might increase the difficulty by attracting more 

 birds to the place. In some cases, it is impossible to save 

 the fruit unless fire-arms are used; but it is usually suffi- 

 s 



