Repairing Damage 115 
years old, are trimmed to appropriate length and with 
wedge-shaped ends grafted between bark and wood of upper 
and lower margin, side by side, bridging the wound. To 
keep the ends of the scions and the bark in place, a cloth 
bandage is applied at the two margins, and the whole — 
scions and all —is covered by melted tree wax. If prop- 
erly done, the connection of upper and lower portions will 
be re-established and the damage outgrown. 
Smaller wounds may be treated in the same way, or as 
prescribed in the case of pruning wounds. In every such 
case of bridging, care should be taken to clean and cut out 
all decayed wood, dressing the edges back to live bark and 
applying the antiseptic tar or paint, or wax, if the wound is 
small and in young wood. 
As it will have appeared from our discussions, cutting 
into the wood of a tree does not injure it in any way, except 
possibly weakening it mechanically, and no hesitation may 
be felt in removing diseased portions, and, where it appears 
necessary, in substituting other serviceable material for 
the loss of substance. 
If a branch is partially broken out of its crotch or socket, 
but still connected with the main trunk, it can often be 
healed on again, by putting it into position, after applying 
an antiseptic to the wound, bolting it securely to the trunk, 
coating the*scar heavily with wax or paint, and heading back, 
so as to reduce the need of water in proportion to the 
injury. 
With trees which are liable to breaking out at the crotch, 
such as the Silver Maple and Elm among others, it is wise 
to prevent such breaking by bracing them in time. This 
should always be done by the use of bolts rather than bands, 
for with the growth of the tree the bands constrict the nat- 
ural expansion, obstructing the flow of water and food 
