36 PRACTICAL TREE REPAIR 



coating is brittle and soluble. There are a num- 

 ber of compounds of asphalt made especially as 

 tree dressings. The one with which I have most 

 acquaintance is " Hoyt's Tree Varnish," a solu- 

 tion of asphalt in a permanent compound paint 

 oil. It is an extremely good preparation, being 

 thick, tough, and elastic. It has the drawback, 

 though, of costing about a dollar a gallon. The 

 same dealer (C. H. Hoyt, of Cleveland) puts up 

 a water-proofer which he will mix especially for 

 tree work, such as painting cavities, and sell at 

 about forty cents a gallon. A number of pruning 

 paints are advertised in the gardening magazines. 



These asphalt preparations are, in general, not 

 difficult to make. Simply melt the asphalt, take 

 the vessel containing it a short distance away from 

 the fire, and stir in the proper amount of the 

 fluxing oil. Highly inflammable gases are pro- 

 duced during the mixing, especially if a mineral 

 oil is used, and that is the reason for getting away 

 from the fire. 



Practically any form of asphalt can be used in 

 making these preparations. The writer has 

 found the Barber cement he has mentioned in 

 many ways the most satisfactory, though the arti- 

 ficial asphalts give very good results. Further 

 experiments may fix on some one form of asphalt 

 as the best. 



As a solvent, there is little reason for choosing 



