88 HOW TO APPLY THE COMPOSITION. 



cutting away the canker ; this should be done 

 as far as the tree is at all blemished, till you 

 come all round to sound bark, otherwise it will 

 not heal well and such trees as have moss 

 on the stems should be thoroughly cleaned 

 before the mixture is applied ; for this not only 

 fedtfs on the tree itself, but is a complete har- 

 boui^for insects. The heads of the trees should 

 be pruned, taking away all limbs that are 

 cankered, unless you cut the canker out, and 

 likewise all branches which are superfluous ; 

 then apply the mixture thoroughly in all parts 

 you can as before described ; and wherever 

 a small crack appears in the bark, be sure 

 not to forget an extra portion, for there is 

 almost sure to be a maggot ; also well brush 

 the parts where the cankef is taken out, and it 

 will so change the flavour, the insect will never 

 attack those places again : should the trees be 

 very bad, you may add a small portion of oil, 

 about a table-spoonful to a one shilling packet, 

 and so in proportion to the larger packets. 

 Why I recommend oil in this case, is be- 

 cause it will convey the mixture into the cavi- 

 ties, for if you spill oil on the floor, it will soon 

 cover a much larger space than where it first 

 fell, and the quantity recommended will not 

 injure ; but this addition will be quite unne- 

 cessary on clean trees, as the composition used 



