160 STUDIES OF TREES 



other suggested remedies, such as boring holes in the wood 

 for the purpose of inserting chemicals, are futile. 



The wood of the chestnut tree, within three or four years 

 after its death, is still sound and may be used for telephone 

 and telegraph poles, posts, railroad ties, lumber and 

 firewood. 



Spraying for fungous diseases : Where a fungous disease 

 is attacking the leaves, fruit, or twigs, spraying with 

 Bordeaux mixture may prove effective. The application 

 of Bordeaux mixture is deterrent rather than remedial, 

 and should therefore be made immediately before the 

 disease appears. The nature of the disease and the time 

 of treatment can be determined without cost, by submitting 

 specimens of affected portions of the plant for analysis 

 and advice to the State Agricultural Experiment Station 

 or to the United States Department of Agriculture. 



Bordeaux mixture, the standard fungicide material, 

 consists of a solution of 6 pounds of copper sulphate (blue 

 vitriol) with 4 pounds of slaked lime in 50 gallons of 

 water. It may be purchased in prepared form in the open 

 market, and when properly made, has a brilliant sky-blue 

 color. Spraying with Bordeaux mixture should be done 

 in the fall, early spring, or early summer, but never during 

 the period when the trees are in bloom. 



STUDY HI. PRUNING TREES 

 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES 



Trees are very much like human beings in their require- 

 ments, mode of life and diseases, and the general principles 

 applicable to the care of one are equally important to the 

 intelligent treatment of the other. The removal of limbs 



