PRUNING: CARE OF NEWI.Y-SET TREES 43 



and hides in the soil or under a stick. Oh, he's a sly 

 fellow ! 



This slightly -reduced picture shows how this 

 whitish pest looks when he's at 

 work. Several methods of com- 

 bating cut-worms have been in- 

 vented, but one of the best ways 

 is to fence them out. Fig. I gives 

 the idea. Cut some stiff tar-paper into strips about 

 nine inches long and two or three inches wide. Put 

 a strip around a tree trunk, tightly lap the edges an 

 inch or more, and push the lower half of the circle 

 into the soil to anchor it and to prevent worms from 

 easily burrowing beneath. It takes but a short time 

 and only a few cents thus to protect several hun- 

 dred newly-set trees. All that is necessary 

 is to have the paper at least an inch and one- 

 half away from all parts of the tree ; to have 

 the edges lapped tightly ; and to make sure 

 that no worms are hid in the soil between 

 L the paper and the tree. Any kind of stiff 

 paper, or wood veneer, or tin, will do ; I pre- 

 fer tar-paper because it is lasting and cheap. 

 An orchard thus protected is safe for many weeks 

 until cut-worm danger is mostly over. Just why the 

 worms do not "climb over the fence, " is a puzzle. But 

 they very rarely do. These worms are less trouble- 

 some on heavy soils than on light soils. They seem 

 to prefer sandy ground, in which they can more easily 

 hide and propagate. 



DANGER OF PREMATURE FRUIT-BEARING. The 

 act of bearing fruit is sure to stunt the growth of 



