TRAINIKG ASb KEPAIRIXG OUCHAKD TREES. 43 



apart, the branches may often be brouglit together again 

 and secured with bolts. I will describe a case of unusual 

 severity, which will serve to illustrate the method to be 

 employed in repairing broken trees. An over-laden 

 Baldwin tree, a foot or more in diameter, the top of which 

 started about four feet from the ground, was broken down 

 by a wind storm. The broken portion included nearly half 

 the tree, and it split away from the main portion and lay 

 flat upon the ground. The split reached to the heart of the 

 trunk, and extended to the ground. Ropes were secured to 

 the fallen portion, and were then passed around limbs on 

 the standing portion, so that the broken part could be 

 pulled up as with so many ropes and pulleys. Several men 

 pulled up the broken half, and a three-fourths inch iron 

 rod was passed through the body, and the two parts 

 were brought snugly together by a heavy nut. Two rods, 

 five or six feet long, were passed through the branches 

 higher up, and were drawn tight by nuts. The heads of 

 the bolts were large and flat, so that they could not be 

 pulled into the wood, and the nuts had large washers 

 underneath them. The split was then thoroughly waxed 

 over and covered with a piece of rubber cloth. The two 

 parts of the tree united, and in two years there was no evi- 

 dence of a split except the bolts. Bands placed about 

 trees to brace them are always injurious, as they restrict 

 growth. I have never known injury to result from the 

 use of bolts. The heads soon grow in, and no trace is 

 left of them. 



Large limbs often break down in such a manner as to 

 preclude all possibility of rejoining the broken parts. 

 The loss of the limbs may destroy the symmetry of the 



