1905 FRUITS OF ONTARIO. 23 



on the chisel to admit the scion freely. Setting the scion with the top pointing 

 slig-htly outward insures contact in at least one point. After setting the scions, 

 cover all wounds with wax. 



It is sometimes necessary to remove part of the water-sprouts, which usually 

 start during the summer, to give the scions room for proper development. By 

 the following spring the scions should have made sufficient growth to require all 

 space in that part of the tree, and all other growth should be removed. 



Sun Scald. 



Sun scald is an injury to trees which occurs most frequently in the northern 

 districts. It is most serious on young trees, but may also affect the upper side of 

 the large branches in older trees. It is caused by the action of the hot sun on the 

 trunk and branches in the early spring. The first indication is an unhealthy ap- 

 pearance of the bark on the south and south-west sides of trunk and upper side 

 of large branches, the affected parts soon turn brown, then black, and finally die. 



In districts where sun scald is apt to occur, it is well to head the trees low 

 and incline the stem slightly to the south-west. In this way the branches afford 

 some shade to the trunk. Anything which will shade the trunk in early spring 

 will prevent the injury. For this purpose the most convenient of the following 

 materials may be used : cornstalks, birchbark, building paper, or a veneer of thin 

 wood, such as is used in basket making. The large branches of old trees should 

 receive natural protection from the small branches and twigs of the top. For 

 this reason severe pruning of the top is not advisable in northern districts. 



When trees are badly affected they usually die, but where the injury is slight, 

 and is noticed soon after it occurs, treatment is practicable. Cut away the in- 

 jured parts, and cover the wound with grafting wax or some material which will 

 keep the wood from drying out. If the tree is healthy and vigorous, the annual 

 growth spreading in from the sound parts soon repairs the injury. 



Pkotection from Mice. 



During the past two or three years, mice have become a serious menace to 

 young orchards. The rapid increase in numbers may be largely accounted for by 

 the indiscriminate destruction of the farmer's best friends, the hawks, that feed 

 largely on mice by day, and the owls, which take up the work by night. By care- 

 fully protecting the hawks and owls for a few years, their numbers will again 

 increase, so that the equilibrium of nature may be restored. In the meantime 

 something must be done to protect the trees against the rodents. 



Mice seldom harbor in a green crop, and on clean fields they find no protec- 

 tion. They are found chiefly along the fence lines and in old meadows. As there 

 is usually some shelter afforded the mice near orchards, it is advisable to guard 

 against their depredations. In localities where the snow falls early and remains 

 on the ground all winter, the simplest means of protecting the trees is to tramp the 

 snow firmly about the base of each tree early in the winter. Where the ground 

 is not continuously covered with snow during the winter, a mound of earth about 

 the tree is sometimes all that is required to divert the runways of the mice. Build- 

 ing paper cut into strips which will reach about one foot high when tied about 

 the trunk of the tree in autumn has been found to be both a cheap and an effect- 

 ive preventive. 



Badly girdled trees usually die. When the part girdled is small and is cov- 

 ered before the wood dries oiit with grafting wax or other substance which will 

 protect the inner tissues, the tree may be saved. If the girdled part extends en- 

 tirely around the tree, it will be necessary to establish some connection between 



