Notes and Brief Articles 



61 



tion. Boletes are exceedingly rare in tropical regions. This is 

 probably the first specimen of the group that has been found in 

 Porto Rico ; and it is interesting to note that it belongs to the 

 small genus having pale, ellipsoid spores. 



W. A. Murrill. 



Tree Surgery is the subject of Farmers' Bulletin 1173, by J. 

 Franklin Collins, published in September, 1920. This bulletin is 

 intended primarily as a guide for those who desire to take care 

 of their own trees or to superintend such work. It outlines some 

 of the better methods of treating injuries, removing dead or 

 diseased limbs, and repairing decayed spots in the trunk or limbs. 



A badly diseased or injured tree should be removed and re- 

 placed by a healthy one unless there is some very special reason 

 for trying to preserve the tree. This applies particulary to an 

 old tree that has been in poor condition or in poor soil for some 

 years. Such a tree rarely recovers completely from the shock 

 of extensive or elaborate repair work on the trunk ; in fact, it 

 often deteriorates more rapidly thereafter. Two axioms of tree- 

 repair work (tree surgery) that should be borne in mind con- 

 stantly are (1) that prompt treatment of freshly made wounds is 

 the surest and most economical method of preventing disease or 

 decay in the future and (2) that all wounds made in tree-surgery 

 work should be cleaned, sterilized, and protected from infection 

 just as thoroughly as in the case of animal surgery and for 

 exactly the same reasons. 



At present tree-repair work has not received the recognition and 

 approval from tree owners that it deserves. This may be due at 

 times to unfavorable experiences with dishonest and ignorant 

 tree surgeons, at other times to the reluctance of the owners to 

 spend much money in preserving their trees, or from their ignor- 

 ance of the benefits that may result when tree-repair work is 

 properly done. Reliable tree surgeons are doing much in a prac- 

 tical way to educate the public as to the benefits of tree-repair 

 work. Unfortunately, the unscientific or dishonest work of some 

 others still is doing much to offset it. 



