92 DAVET'S PRIMER 



" What's the lady holding? " 



That is a specimen of the wicked work of the 

 "tree butcher," Belle. Turn back to the last photo- 

 graph and you can see that it has been "butchered" 

 twice. Some years ago they cut the top off, and the 

 tree nobly made another effort and was gradually re- 

 covering from' the shock and forming a new head when 

 the "butcher" possibly running out off "beer 

 money " made the owner believe that " a tree haden 

 otter have a big head;" so it was decapitated the 

 second time. Cruel ! But, if the mischief stopped with 

 the work of the butcher's saw and hatchet, the results 

 would not be so bad ; however, this is only the begin- 

 ning of the real trouble, which is being shown you by 

 the lady in this photograph. This is what happens to 

 every tree whose top is cut off by unskilled workmen 

 and left unprotected. The very small branches may 

 heal over their wounds the first season ; but branches 

 more than half an inch in diameter, if the wounds are 

 not dressed, will commence to decay; then Nature, as 

 if in the frantic efforts to save the tree from death, 

 builds up around the wounded member; but this forms 

 a " cup " and holds the water and the process of rotting 

 goes on, down! down! as you see it in the photograph. 



It is sad, sad) indeed, to find thousands of other- 

 wise fine trees in a city hacked to pieces in this shame- 

 ful way by ignorant men. There are cases where tops 

 may be removed to an advantage to the tree, but the 

 work should always be performed by a skilled work- 



