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 the tree. They are 
especially fond of corn shocks about trees. If a loose 
mulch remains about the tree, they will be likely 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. 
