26 



THE WESTERN POMOLOGIST. 



1871 





The New Volume— To our Friends. 



In commencing the second volume of the "W est- 

 ERN POMOLOGIST, wc beg to thank our friends for 

 past favors, and to say a few words respecting our 

 enterprise. The establishment of a new paper at 

 the present day of competition in journalism, 

 whether horticultural, agricultural, political or 

 religious, is, at best, a difficult and laborious task. 

 But the POMOLOGIST was commenced under pecul- 

 iarly unfavorable circumstances ; there were already 

 three old, well established and ably conducted jour- 

 nals, to say nothing of the many agricultural jour- 

 nals throughout the length and breadth of the 

 country with their horticultural departments. 

 Then again, comparatively, the West is yet newly 

 and sparcely settled, and, in the very nature of 

 things to a great extent, by those whose occupations 

 are not such as to ensure the general reception of a 

 paper devoted exclusively to the interests of pomol- 

 ogy and horticulture. In the face ef all these ad- 

 verse circumstances, it was prophesied by many, on 

 the appearance of the paper, that it must speedily 

 succumb to its scignors in the attempt to share their 

 patronage. This idea, however, we utterly repudi- 

 ated—believing that there was ample room for a 

 new horticultural journal — that in the locality and 

 rising importance of the West, was to be found a 

 pressing demand for such a paper. 



And now, friends, have we erred ? Shall this 

 promising tield be abandoned after having been at 

 least partially occupied for the past year ? Consider 

 the value of knowledge in every department of 

 human affairs, and of the indispensability of the 

 Press in diffusing it, and see if every means of im- 

 provement is not demanded — shall not be laid hold 

 of and vigorously employed. Much has already 

 been learned, but there is yet before us a vast 

 pomological field for exploration. 



We shall be unremitting in our efforts to improve 

 the paper — to make it a source of instruction and 

 usefulness — confidenth' relying upon the help of 

 our friends to aid us in making it all that is needed. 

 Shall we have it ? Is our enterprise worthy of sup- 

 port, and if so, will you not help us to obtain it ? 

 In view of the past, we are impressed with the be- 

 lief that the enlargement of the paper and other 

 improvements will be met by a corresponding lib- 

 erality on the part of our friends. 



Trees Girdled by mice and Rabbits. 



At no season of the year is the orchard exempt 

 from some kind of pest or other. While bugs and 

 other creeping things are taking their winter nap, 



rabbits and mice are active and come in for the lyon'a 

 share, for they often destroy the very life of the 

 tree attacked. As a protection it is recommended to 

 throw up a mound around the stem of the tree ; 

 but bandaging with coarse, thick paper, saturated 

 with linseed oil to protect it from the weather, is 

 unquestionably the very best of all preventives, or, 

 wrapping with hay or straw rope to the height of 

 two or three feet. This, however, involves more 

 labor than most men will give. For the last six 

 years there have been wintered upon our premises 

 many thousands of trees— varying from one to ten 

 years of age. And though rabbits have been very 

 plenty about the grounds, with the exception of 

 one winter, not a half dozen trees all told, have been 

 touched, and that was in one corner of the nursery, 

 near which no corn had been grown the previous 

 season, or the precaution taken to distribute corn 

 among the trees occasionally during the win- 

 ter. We do not believe that either rabbits or mice 

 will meddle with trees if corn be thrown in their 

 way. Our practice is to have corn grown near both 

 orchard and nursery, and to leave a little of it on 

 the ground accessible to rabbits and mice. 



To save the life of a tree after the damage is 

 done, if girdled all around, entirely severing the 

 bark, it is recommended to insert scions beneath the 

 bark above and below the wound, thereby forming 

 a new connection between the severed parts of the 

 bark and wood. A very narrow connecting strip of 

 bark will save the life ot a tree. Mr. D. B. Weir, 

 of Lacon, 111., an intelligent horticulturist, and one 

 of our regular correspondents, gives to the Western 

 Farmer his method for saving girdled trees, and 

 whicli he represents as very successful : 



" Look over your trees the tirst thawing day after 

 each snow, and if any trees are found girdled or in- 

 jured, proceed at once to bank snow around the 

 tree, tramping it down hard, if the ground is frozen ; 

 if not, bank soil around it say six inches above the 

 highest point injured. If it is frozen, use snow and 

 replace it with soil as soon as possible— if you can, 

 before the snow has melted so as to expose the 

 wounds. 



You need pay no more attention to the tree until 

 from the first to the middle of September following, 

 leaving the mound intact until that time. The 

 mound should be taken away then, and the wounds 

 will be found to be entirely rebarked over. 



So confident am I that this remedy is perfect, 

 that I would be perfectly willing and happy to have 

 an army of mice take all the bark from my orchard 

 of 13 000 trees both old and young, within their 

 reach, standing flat footed on the ground, for the 

 small 'sum often cents per tree! 



Rabbits sometimes injure trees so high upon the 

 trunks as to be incovenicnt to earth up above the 

 wound Au application of shellac varnish applied 

 to it and that covered with cloth bandage, will pre- 

 vent all injury." 



