REMOVAL OF CANKERS. 



39 



Fig. 7.— How to cut off a large 

 limb. 



no circumstances should the rotted fruits be allowed to remain lying 

 on the ground under the trees through the winter. 



Dried apples on the trees should be picked and burned as soon after 

 the fall of the leaves as possible. 



Where the bitter rot appears in an orchard 

 at isolated points it will oftentimes pay to 

 watch the trees where the trouble first shows 

 itself and to pick every fruit showing the 

 slightest sign of disease. In that way the 

 chance of having the disease spread to adjoin- 

 ing trees will be materially lessened. 



REMOVAL OF LIMB CANKERS. 



It seems well established now that one of 

 the principal sources of infection of the ripen- 

 ing apples is to be found in the cankers on 

 apple limbs. These cankers should accord- 

 ingly be removed and burned wherever they 

 are found, no matter where the affected limb 

 may be. It is often a difficult matter to find 



these cankers on large trees, and a good deal of patience is necessary 

 to locate them. In cutting out the cankers the whole limb should be 

 sawed off some distance below the cankers. Where the branch is a 

 large one the diseased portion may be cut out without cutting off the 



entire limb. The best time for cutting out 

 the cankers is during the late fall and dur- 

 ing the winter. The cankers can be located 

 most readily when there are no leaves on 

 the trees. In cutting off limbs which have 

 cankers on them, the same rules which hold 

 for pruning branches should be observed. 

 Small branches may be cut off with a saw 

 at one cut. Two cuts should be made for 

 larger branches, the first one on the under 

 side, the second on the upper side, so as to 

 prevent tearing off large areas of bark. 

 (See figs. 7 and 8.) 



All cut surfaces should be carefully 

 trimmed, and after that they should be 

 coated with some antiseptic substance, such 

 as white lead paint or ordinary coal tar. The coal tar should be 

 applied with a brush, and if too thick, it may be warmed. It is 

 believed that by carefully removing and destroying all cankers the 

 damage from bitter-rot infection will be very materially lessened. 



Fig. 8.— Method of cutting a large 

 limb which should be avoided. 



