TRAIKING AND REPAIRIis^G ORCHARD TREES. 41 



injured surface with grafting wax. In cases of ''barking," 

 which is ahuost unavoidable in hirge orchards, I have 

 found a good remedy to be a liberal application of cow 

 dung, over which stout cloths are firmly wound. All 

 the loose bark should be removed. 



The disfiguring of the tops of trees by injuries from ice 

 or wind, and by heavy loads of fruit, is a frequent occur- 

 rence. In this matter " an ounce of prevention is worth a 



Fig. 4.— TWISTED BRANCHES IN A CROTCH. 



pound of cure." In training young trees all crotches should 

 be avoided. If the tree, as it comes from the nursery, has 

 a fork, one branch should be removed and the other tied 

 up perpendicularly. If bad crotches should occur in trees 

 six years old or upwards, they should be braced. This 

 bracing is done by twisting together two twigs, one from 

 the inside of each branch of the crotch. The twigs may 

 be twisted about each other loosely, the ends being 

 allowed to project freely beyond the opposite branches of 

 the crotch (figure 4). If kept in place, these twigs will 

 soon begin to adhere along their whole length, and after 



