220 SHADE-TREES IN TOWNS AND CITIES 



Melt in mass, pour into a tub or pail of cold water, then 

 work with greased hands until it develops a grain and 

 becomes the color of taffy candy. 



If instead of one part tallow, one and a half parts of lin- 

 seed-oil are used, and the "ingredients then melted, the 

 grafting wax can be drawn out for use without any ne- 

 cessity of remelting. The hands should be greased when 

 working the wax. 



Breakages in Storms. — When a limb breaks in a storm 

 the fracture is usually very rough and some of the bark is 

 stripped. The branch should be cut back close to a crotch 

 and the scar painted with coal-tar, just as in pruning. Any 

 loose bark must be removed. 



Filling of Cavities. — ^The mutilation of trees by horses 

 has already been discussed. Any neglected injury to a tree 

 in which the bark is stripped from the trunk, causes the 

 wood to rot and the decay is carried to the centre of the 

 tree. Frequently such cavities can be treated and the life 

 of the tree greatly prolonged. 



The repair of tree cavities is very much like the process 

 of filling a tooth. All decayed and diseased wood is removed 

 as far as the living tissue. (Plate 43. ) A great variety of 

 tools is found useful in this process of scooping out the bad 

 wood: a ship bit, chisel and hammer, gouge, adze and hatchet 

 can be employed. It is found that in old cavities, the bark, 

 in an effort to cover up the wound, is deposited in thick rolls 

 around the edges that turn inwardly. It is necessary to 

 remove all this tissue to such parts of the trunk that be- 

 long to the natural contour of the tree, to the points AA, 

 Fig. 33. 



Every cavity requires different methods of procedure in 

 the way it is cleaned, in the amount removed and the means 



