Mending Old Trees—By J. Watson, 
New 
Jersey 
THE SIMPLE ART OF PUTTING NEW VIGOR INTO OLD SPECIMENS THAT CANNOT BE REPLACED — 
MAKING REPAIRS AFTER INJURY FROM STORMS AND DISEASE, AND BRIDGE GRAFTING FOR NEW BARK 
sae art of maintaining vigor in a_ tree 
that has attained its full development 
differs essentially from that which concerns 
itself with the shaping of the young one. In 
young trees pruning is done with the special 
purpose of developing a well-formed head to 
the tree; but in after years, the whole ob- 
ject of pruning is to maintain health and 
prevent as far as possible the attacks of dis- 
ease, at the same time overcoming the re- 
sults of injury and accident. 
Most of the “‘accidents” that happen to 
old trees are the results of improper treat- 
ment or negligence during their youth. 
REMOVING LARGE LIMBS 
Most fertile of all causes is the careless re- 
moval of limbs that have attained a diameter 
of a few inches. The best way to maintain 
health and vigor in the old tree is to see that 
when pruning is done on the young tree 
no stubs are left to rot and open up a channel 
for the entrance of fungous diseases or insects. 
When removing a large branch, cut as 
This old apple tree has been given a new lease of life. 
close as possible to the trunk. The cut 
should begin from underneath, and after 
having sawn through about one-third of the 
way, begin with making a fresh cut on the 
upper side of the branch, and a few inches 
farther away from the trunk than where the 
first or lower cut was started. In dealing 
with a large or heavy branch, if this double 
cut is not made there is sure to be an ugly 
split when the branch is sawn nearly through 
from the top. It will fall by its own weight, 
and tear wood and bark from the trunk. 
The projecting stub must not be left thus. 
It should be again cut back so as to make 
an even plane with the trunk of the tree, and 
the surface smoothed off with a chisel, and 
immediately coated over with some anti- 
septic or preservative material. Any com- 
mon paint is good; Bordeaux mixture may 
be used; but the best and often handiest pre- 
servative is coal tar. It repels insects, pre- 
vents the entrance of fungous diseases, is 
waterproof, and its dark color, hiding the 
white, newly cut surface of the wood, com- 
The rotted Knot holes were scraped out to live 
wood, painted, and filled with cement 
288 
pletely removes all appearance of the work 
that has been done. 
HOLES AND HOLLOW TRUNKS 
An unshortened stub, or one that has not 
been antiseptically treated, although properly 
shortened, will, unless the diameter of the 
cut is not more than two or three inches, 
inevitably rot, and form an ugly hole. 
Most trees that are split by the wind exhibit 
hollowness from some such sauree. If you 
have a tree with a cavity of this nature in its 
trunk, it can be saved for a great many years 
yet by thoroughly scraping out all the de- 
caying surface matter, cutting away until 
live tissue is reached, then either painting or 
burning out the inside, and plugging up the 
hole by a piece of wood, or filling in with 
cement. 
Old trees will very often have an A-shaped 
cavity at the base. The rot in this case 
works very slowly, as the disease does not 
travel upward so easily as it will work 
downward, and often indeed a tree will 
endure until its existence is ended, as a 
result of some other trouble. It is merely 
a question of time, however, when the heart 
wood will be entirely eaten up by the decay, 
and nothing but the shell of living bark stands 
to carry an over-heavy top. An unusually 
heavy windstorm finds such a tree an easy 
victim, especially if the branches are in full 
leafage. There is no need to despair, how- 
ever, even though a tree be thus ancient and 
hollow. An entirely artificial heart can be 
put in. After having assured yourself that 
the interior has been thoroughly cleaned out, 
fill it up solid with cement, concrete, or even 
bricks and mortar. Build it up tight and 
well, and you will have a specimen that will 
defy the strongest storm that ever blew. 
THE BROKEN CROTCH 
An evenly divided head—that is, where 
there are two leaders to a tree—is an ever- 
present source of danger. It will split. 
Sometimes, asa result of a hollow formed in 
the angle, rot will start and gradually hollow 
out the trunk. Two things must then be 
done. First, the thorough cleansing and 
filling of the hole, and second, the bolting 
or bracing of the divergent limbs. Don’t 
make the brace too near the crotch. It will 
be much more effective if it is several feet 
away from the crotch. The method of 
bracing is very important, and usually it 
is very badly done. The easiest way to 
brace the two limbs is to fasten a chain or 
cable around one, and extend it to the other, 
fastening it around that also. Mechan- 
ically, the desired result is attained. But 
something more than mechanics must be 
considered—the very habit of growth of the 
tree makes this method of bracing a sure 
forerunner of speedy death. As growth 
proceeds, and the limbs attain greater size, 
the inelastic chain or cable will cut into the 
