PROTECTION OF FRUIT TREES FROM RODENTS 



57 



cu touched; for it should be remembered that proper precautions 

 had been taken each autumn previous to protect these same trees 

 from winter injury by mice. We are just about to congratulate 

 ourselves that our young orchard is unblemished when we examine 

 a much-prized tree of the Benoni apple and find it almost completely 

 girdled, There are even fresh marks of mischievous, little teeth, 

 impressing us with the truth that we should not consider our 

 mulched trees safe from these little rodents even in the summer 

 season. 



Fig. 3. The tree was protected — so was the enemy! 



Resuming our way through a younger portion of the orchard we 

 come upon a little tree whose stem is scarred by deep, jagged 

 wounds where the powerful jaws and vicious, cutting teeth of some 

 rodent have been exercised. The bark has not been eaten as by 

 rabbits or mice — only terribly mutilated. The destructive work is 

 at once recognized as that of a trespassing woodchuck or "ground- 

 hog" whose freshly made burrow is found nearby. 



Farther up on the hillside other mounds of fresh earth clearly 

 show that a colony of these troublesome rodents is establishing 

 itself and forcing upon us many destructive and unwelcome guests. 



