186 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 170. 



opportunity for growth without causing injur,y. The ideal tree guard 

 is durable, easily placed and not easily displaced, inexpensive and neat 

 in appearance. Some tree guards are attached to trees by means of 

 staples or nails, but this method of attachment is objectionable. The 

 old-fashioned tree guard made of wood usually became useless in a few 

 j^ears. However, while it may not have jDossessed much beauty or per- 

 manent utilitj^, it at least showed a commendable spirit and desire for 

 tree protection. 



A ver}'- cheap and efficient tree guard is used to quite an extent in 

 some places, and is known as the "Clinton Tree Guard." This guard is 

 made of No. 15 galvanized wire, having a mesh three-fourths inch in 

 diameter, all the wire contacts being soldered. This wire may be bought 

 in strips of various widths from 12 to 48 inches, and cut off any length 

 desired, 6 and 0§ feet being the more usual lengths. Strips 12 to 18 inches 

 wide are well suited for small trees. These are rolled up in cylindrical form 

 of the desired diameter, and tied together by a few pieces of copper wire. 

 To prevent the top of the tree guard from chafing the tree the top is 



protected by wiring through the rough 

 edges of the guard a split piece of dis- 

 carded rubber hose. Use is also made of in- 

 sulated wires or springs placed diagonally 

 through the top of the guard to hold it away 

 from the tree. The great advantage of this 

 guard is its cheapness, but it is made of 

 heavy wire firmly woven, and answers the 

 requirements very well. This ware is made 

 by the Clinton Wire Company, Clinton, 

 Mass., and costs about 4^ cents per square 

 foot. (See Fig. 60.) 



A re-enforced wire cloth guard manu- 

 factured by the Wright Wire Company, 

 Worcester, Mass., has recently come into 

 use. It is made from close mesh wire similar 

 to that of the Clinton guard, but is re-enforced 

 with flat metal strips. This re-enforcement 

 is considered a valuable innovation because 

 even heavy wire mesh is likely to crumple up 

 with hard usage, and becomes ineffective as 

 a tree guard. The re-enforced metal edges 

 are provided with holes for the purpose of 

 stapling the guard to large trees. (See Fig. 

 61.) 



One of the neatest and most durable tree 

 guards is shown in Fig. 59. It consists of an 

 open-mesh, heavy-wired guard supported by a piece of angle iron on 

 either side driven into the ground. The angle iron acts as a re-enforce- 



Fi G. 59. — Effectual tree 

 guard used on Boston Com- 

 mon. The wire guard is 

 re-enforced l)y iiointed 

 angle irons driven into the 

 ground. 



