74 FIELD NOTES ON APPLE CULTURE. 



to sticks and placed promiscuously through the orchard, 

 and rabbits did not annoy me. Blood and various ani- 

 mal substances smeared on the trees will keep rabbits 

 away. 



Mice are a worse evil than rabbits. Their work is not 

 often discovered until too late to be avoided. Clean cul- 

 ture is a good preventive of injuries by mice. Mice de- 

 light in high grass, which bends under the snow, and in 

 all litter which accumulates about tlio tree. They are 

 especially fond of corn shocks about trees. If a loose 

 mulch remains about the tree, they will be Hkely to dis- 

 cover it. Therefore, keep the base of the tree clean. 

 Remove all grass and litter, or cover it up with soil and 

 pack it down firmly. In Northern New England, where 

 the paper birch grows abundantly, it is a favorite practice 

 to peel strips of bark two feet long and place them about 

 the trees. This bark soon curls up tightly about the 

 tree, and protects it. 



