Xo. 4.] REPORT OF STATE FORESTER. 345 



of splitting off ill a heavy wind storm; removed the boiler plates and old 

 wire guards that had outgrown their usefulness; opened up all cavities, 

 cleaned out all the dead wood and refilled them ; and lastly, removed the 

 curbing and sidewalk that were choking the root and trunk growth of the 

 tree, and put on new guards. 



The first operation of removing the dead limbs is a very simple one, 

 and one that every one has seen done many times. In this, however, and 

 also when we remove the live limbs, great care is taken to make the cut 

 as close to the trunk of the tree as possible, and to have it cut parallel 

 to the axis of the tree. After the cut is made the resulting wound is care- 

 fully covered with tar, to prevent water and air from getting into the 

 freshly exposed wood and starting decay anew. 



The shaping of the tree is something that has to be left to the j udgment 

 of the foreman, as the conditions under which the tree is growing enter 

 into the case very largely, and no set rule can be laid down. 



After the tree has been relieved of its dead wood, and enough live wood 

 removed to shape it as wanted, all the remaining limbs are carefully looked 

 over for defects. If we find any cavities in them they are scraped out 

 and cement put in, or the inside treated with creosote and then a piece of 

 zinc or tin cut to exactly fit this hole and nailed over it, after being tarred 

 on both sides to prevent the moisture from the live wood rusting it. If the 

 limb is particularly weakened after the dead tissue is removed, then cement 

 is usually used instead of tin, as this adds strength to the limb. 



In many cases these limbs where they leave the main body of the tree 

 are particularly weak (some have already started to crack), and show to 

 the expert eye that they need bracing, in order to prevent them from 

 splitting off during some wild storm and possibly injuring some passer-by, 

 thereby causing not only inconvenience to some of our citizens but also 

 the danger of the added expense of a lawsuit to the city. In order to 

 prevent this, when we find a limb that in our opinion is dangerous it is 

 braced by means of chains connecting it with some other stronger limb or 

 with the main trunk. These chains are attached to the tree or limb by 

 means of bolts or lugs set into the wood, and the chain attached to the 

 bolts and not to the tree itself. This has the effect of holding the limbs 

 in the position they are meant to assume, and yet it does not prevent 

 them from swinging in the wind to some extent. 



The old boiler plates and wire guards that were once attached to the 

 trunks of the trees have in most cases long since passed their usefulness 

 and now need to be removed. In the case of the wire guards, they were 

 firmly nailed to the trunk of the tree, and as the tree has continued to 

 grow the wire has naturally remained stationary, and therefore has become 

 imbedded in the living tissue of the trunk. This has to be removed, 

 or the tree stands in danger of being girdled or of being injured to such 

 an extent that fungous and other diseases can find a lodgment and form 

 new cavities. This same has been true, to a certain extent, with the 

 boiler plate guards; they have become imbedded in the tree oftentimes 

 to such an extent that it is almost impossible to remove them. In addition 



