PREVENTION OF WOUNDS 223 



to be handy are a pruning saw, preferably of the 

 meat-saw type, with a blade which can be set at 

 right angles to the back, making it possible to 

 take stubs out of crotches; a gouge and mallet; 

 a sharp knife, and, if borers are to be tackled at 

 the same time, the wire and other tools recom- 

 mended in the chapter on insects. Of dressings, 

 liquid grafting wax (not likely to be used so often, 

 however, as in emergency operations), shellac, 

 and tar, paint, or some form of liquid asphalt, will 

 be needed, and such things like putty, carbon 

 bisulphide, and the like, as may be needed for 

 special purposes. Every tree must be carefully 

 inspected from its roots up. If it is a young tree 

 and there is high grass growing around it, pull the 

 grass away, and make sure that the base of the 

 trunk has not been gnawed by mice. Inspect the 

 bark, to see if any part of it has been killed by 

 canker, frost, or sun-scald. Keep a sharp lookout 

 for sporophores, dull patches of bark, and other 

 signs of the presence of fungi. Look for borers. 

 If the tree has been repaired, see that all fillings 

 and dressings are in good shape. If old pruning 

 wounds are checking, give them another coat of 

 paint. If calluses are growing over any of the 

 wounds, see that borers are not getting into them, 

 for several kinds of borers make a specialty of 

 tender calluses. See that cottony plant lice 

 are not gathering under the lip of the callus, suck- 



