220 PRACTICAL TREE REPAIR 



stands and decay begins. Hartig calls this point 

 " the Achilles heel of a branch wound." It 

 should be specially attended to when the wound is 

 given its second dressing. Similarly, the bark at 

 the bottom of the opening of a filled cavity should 

 be notched with a gouge to let the water drain 

 out of the trough which is pretty sure to be formed 

 between the bark and the wood. 



The rule as to close pruning does not apply to 



Pocket above a pruning wound corrected by the use of the gouge 



roots. They should be left as long as possible, 

 if they are in good condition, unless they have to 

 be cut off very close to the tree. In that case they 

 should be cut as close to the trunk as possible, if 

 necessary by using a gouge. The wound should 

 be carefully dressed. A good material for this 

 purpose, as well as for longer roots which are very 

 large, is hot carbolineum. After following this 

 with a heavier dressing a few shovelfuls of cinders 

 should be thrown against the root to drain the cut 



