1914 FRUITS OF ONTARIO. 21 



Open the cleft with the wedge end of the grafting chisel and insert one or two 

 scions, as may be thought necessary. Place the lower bud of the scion to the outside. 

 Do not force the scion down, but open the cleft by enough leverage on the chisel to 

 admit the scion freely. Setting the scion with the top pointing slightly outward insures 

 contact in at least one point. After setting the scions, cover, all wounds with wax. 



It is sometimes necessary to remove part of the watersprouts, which usually start 

 during the summer, to give the scions room for proper development. By the following 

 spring the scions should have made sufficient growth to require all space in that part 

 of the tree, and all other growth should be removed. 



SUN SCALD. 



Sun scald is an injury to trees which occurs most frequently in the northern dis- 

 tricts. It is most serious on young trees, but may also affect the upper side of the large 

 branches in older trees. It is caused by the action of the hot sun on the trunk and 

 branches in the early spring. The first indication is an unhealthy appearance of the 

 bark on the south and south-west sides of trunk and upper side of large branches, the 

 affected parts soon turn brown, then black, and finally die. 



In districts where sun scald is apt to occur, it is well to head the trees low and 

 incline the stem slightly to the south-west. In this way the branches afford some shade 

 to the trunk. Anything which will shade the trunk in early spring will prevent the 

 injury. For this purpose the most convenient of the following materials may be used: 

 cornstalks, birchbark, building paper, or a veneer of thin wood, such as is used in basket 

 making. The large branches of old trees should receive natural protection from the 

 small branches and twigs of the top. For this reason severe pruning of the top is not 

 advisable in northern districts. 



When trees are badly affected they usually die, but where the injury is slight, and 

 is noticed soon after it occurs, treatment is practicable. Cut away the injured parts, 

 and cover the wound with grafting wax or some material which will keep the wood 

 from drying out. If the tree is healthy and vigorous, the annual growth spreading in 

 from the sound parts soon repairs the injury. 



PROTECTION FROM MICE. 



During the past two or three years, mice have become a serious menace to young 

 orchards. The rapid increase in numbers may be largely accounted for by the indis- 

 criminate destruction of the farmer's best friends, the hawks, that feed largely on mice 

 by day, and the owls, which take up the work by night. By carefully protecting the 

 hawks and owls for a few years, their numbers will again increase, so that the equi- 

 librium of nature may be restored. In the meantime something must be done to pro- 

 tect the trees against the rodents. 



Mice seldom harbor in a green crop, and on clean fields they find no protection. 

 They are found chiefly along the fence lines and in old meadows. As there is usually 

 some shelter afforded the mice near orchards, it is advisable to guard against their 

 depredations. In localities where the snow falls early and remains on the ground 

 all winter, the simplest means of protecting the trees is to tramp the snow firmly about 

 the base of each tree early in the winter. Where the ground is not continuously covered 

 with snow during the winter, a mound of earth about the tree is sometimes all that 

 is required to divert the runways of the mice. Building paper cut into strips which 

 will reach about one foot high when tied about the trunk of the tree in autumn has 

 been found to be both a cheap and an effective preventive. 



Badly girdled trees usually die. When the part girdled is small and is covered 

 before the wood dries out with grafting wax or other substance which will protect the 

 inner tissues, the tree may be saved. If the girdled part extends entirely around the 

 tree, it will be necessary to establish some connection between the cambium above and 

 below the injury. This may be done by bridge-grafting. For this purpose use long scions 



