ORCHARD CARE 145 



enemies, but the busy orchardist is not always more 

 particular about attending to that detail than he is 

 in the matter of his own health. 



Trees, like men and other animals, almost always 

 die from the effects of poison before their time 

 (excepting for accidents and sudden violence). The 

 poison consists of by-products of microbes which are 

 too small to give the fright that would be caused 

 by the sight of a rattlesnake. Microbes are really 

 more potent than rattlesnakes, even though slower 

 in action. Until that fact becomes generally known 

 good orchardists and their trees will both suffer from 

 preventable illness and premature death. Parasites, 

 which are invisible excepting with the aid of a micro- 

 scope, will continue to be the worst enemies of trees 

 and men for many moons. From the microbe we 

 go to the cow as a pest next in order. Cattle have 

 a way of getting through the fence on days when 

 we are not there to take notes and make remarks. 

 Young nut trees are very seriously damaged when 

 cattle discover the tempting shoots with tender leaves 

 held out to them on a stick at just the right height 

 for convenient browsing. The tops of all young 

 nut trees of temperate regions excepting the walnuts 

 are eaten by cattle which do further damage by rub- 

 bing their heads against trees and breaking branches. 

 Even the walnuts are injured in this way, and I had 

 one field of young grafted walnuts almost all ruined 

 last summer in the course of a few hours by a herd 

 of cows which got through the fence. Woodchucks 

 are particularly injurious to young trees in the early 



