INSECTS, DISEASES, AND INJURIES 



153 



Mechanical injuries should be avoided, for these open the 

 way for the entrance of wood-rotting fungi. All wounds should 

 be carefully cleaned out, disinfected, and coated with some 

 such dressing as coal-tar or asphaltum (see under tree surgery). 



All fruiting bodies should be destroyed as soon after they 

 begin to form as possible. This will not arrest the decay in the 

 diseased individual, but will prevent 

 the spores from infecting other trees. 

 Other sporophores will be produced 

 later and these should be consistently 

 destroyed. 



In cases in which the value of the 

 tree justifies the expense and when 

 the decay is not too far advanced, the 

 diseased wood may be removed. This 

 should be done by a capable person 

 using proper tree-surgical methods. 

 Such treatments are expensive and it 

 should always be remembered that 

 it is now possible to transplant large 

 trees at a comparatively low cost. 



Special treatment is necessary in the case of the root-rot 

 caused by Armillaria mellea. If the disease is discovered in 

 the early stages, there are reasonable chances that the tree 

 may be saved. All the soil should be removed from the butt 

 and main roots. The bark should then be removed from the 

 butt with a sharp knife and all diseased roots traced out as 

 far as possible, cut off and burnt. The exposed surfaces on the 

 butt, including all scars caused by the removal of roots, should 

 be sterilized with creosote and waterproofed with a good 

 coating of tar or asphaltum before the soil is returned. It 

 is advisable to leave a fair portion of the root system (about 



19. Fruiting body of 

 Armillaria mellea. 



