370 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
estates causes extensive damage, leading 
up to cavity work. 
Most of the above injuries done by man 
can, and will, be avoided, if more thought 
is given to the subject by the owner. As 
long as man will be careless, trees will suf- 
fer, and remedies must be applied. 
Now having determined the principal 
causes of the injury, I will take up the 
question of the remedy. This can be clas- 
sified as follows : 
Location of trees in planting; proper 
pruning ; removing overabundance of wood 
and fruit; making proper cuts in removing 
dead or injured limbs, and treating de- 
cayed parts of trees. 
Proper Planting : In cities the space 
usually allowed for planting between curb 
and walk is from two to five feet. As root 
growth is at least equal to top growth, this 
will mean that the greater portion of the 
tree roots are smothered by the walk and 
street paving. The principal object in mak- 
ing a pavement is to prevent moisture from 
penetrating. The remedy of this is to place 
the trees wherever possible on the inside 
of the walk line and at least five feet from 
it. This method of planting will in time 
afford more shade and better trees than 
the usual way of placing the trees in the 
most disadvantageous position for its fu- 
ture growth. One other evil this may 
remedy, and that is the constant trouble 
with the lineman. Telephone, telegraph and 
electric wires are a necessity, and if the 
trees were trained so as to have high 
branches, no conflict with the linemen need 
occur. 
Proper Pruning: Wherever limbs rub, 
one or both should be removed. If trees 
are too dense, the weakest branches 
should be removed. 
Never leave a stump. 
Where a limb joins a branch a marked 
shoulder can be seen. If the limb or 
branch is to be removed the cut should be 
made through the shoulder and not two or 
more inches from it. Never cut a large 
limb and leave a twig to carry on future 
growth. A large limb must have leaf sur- 
face corresponding to the size of the limb. 
Therefore, always graduate the pruning so 
that the large limb will feed a branch 
which will be proportionately smaller and 
yet sufficiently large to carry a correspond- 
ing proportion of twigs and leaves. 
The object of the flow of the sap is to 
go from the roots to the leaves, and with- 
out either the tree cannot live. If no leaves 
or an insufficient number of leaves are left 
on a limb that limb must die. This is true 
when a stump is left, and even though the 
bark breaks, puts forth new leaves, the 
proportion of leaf surface to the stump will 
be insufficient to carry on a proportional 
growth. The result will be that decay will 
set in in the center or heart of the branch 
or stump. This decay is fungus growth. 
The decay, once having gradually entered, 
affects the entire center of the limb and 
gradually the outer bark will follow the 
decay of the central part. This decay does 
not stop at the junction of the next live 
and active limb, but continues its destruct- 
ive work in the center or heart of that 
limb or trunk, as the case may be. 
No harm would be done if the decay 
would stop at the shoulder or the live and 
active branch to which it is attached. But 
the decay grows and just as readily affects 
the next center of the trunk, continuing its 
destructive work down to the root system. 
The same is true whether man makes a 
wrong cut, nature breaks a limb, insects 
start the injury, or from any other con- 
ceivable cause. 
Where a stump is noticed on a tree same 
should be removed and the cut should be 
made at the shoulder. If necessary to re- 
move a large limb, the first cut should be 
made about six or eight inches from the 
shoulder, on the under side, and about one- 
third or one-half way through. Then the 
cut can be made on the upper side right at 
the shoulder, without fear of ripping the 
bark as the limb falls. All saw cuts will 
be rough, similar to what is generally 
known as rough lumber. As all work 
worth doing is worth doing well, and rough 
lumber will retain more moisture and de- 
cay more rapidly than dressed lumber, 
therefore dress the cut with plane and 
sandpaper. It will more readily absorb 
paint, seal the crevises and promote new 
growth. This is a vital point. I have seen 
many cuts made left in the rough and 
without any protection. Germs, disease and 
decay soon enter herein and spread, caus- 
ing serious and sometimes unrepairable 
damage. 
Many different opinions are expressed 
as to the kind of paint to be used. Gen- 
erally speaking, I do not believe in min- 
eral paints or any paint causing a burning 
sensation to the hands. No paint should 
come within at least one-fourth of an inch 
of the live wood. The paint is at best only 
intended for a temporary seal to prevent 
frost, moisture and foreign matter enter- 
ing until nature can affect her perfect outer 
covering of bark. If a cut made at the 
shoulder shows that decay has entered, 
then cavity work is necessary. Whatever 
the cause of the cavity in the tree, whether 
from a stump, bruise or any other reason, 
the treatment should be as follows : 
The decayed spot being located in a limb 
or trunk of a tree, the workman attacks 
the place with his maul, chisels and 
gouges. A gouge is a concave chisel. 
Some gouges should be beveled inside and 
some vice versa, so as to give the workman 
more range in small quarters. Only as 
little of the outside bark should be re- 
moved as is necessary for the workman to 
reach the decay in the center. At first the 
workman usually finds black, decayed wood 
finer than sawdust, which can be removed 
by hand. Not long ago one of our leading 
daily papers contained an article which, 
condensed, meant that if a hose were in- 
serted into the cavity all rotten wood 
would be washed out. Then cement 
should be used to plaster up the hole. 
Plaster up is right, according to some fill- 
ings which have come to my notice. The 
hole as well as a lot of surrounding bark 
was plastered up usually in a rough way 
and without knowledge that the bark is 
supposed to close over the cement and no 
thought given to finish or prevention of 
cement cracks, etc. 
After the workman has removed the 
loose rot the wood becomes harder as he 
progresses. Borers, grubworms, ants and 
other insects will be noticed carrying on 
the unfinished work of fungus. All dis- 
eased wood must be removed until the last 
vista of decay is gone and good, sound 
wood is seen everywhere. At times it is 
necessary to remove all of the body ex- 
cepting about one inch of the shell. Some 
central wood must be retained, even though 
it is less than one-thirtieth part of the 
original body. The remaining live wood 
should in every instance be treated with 
some penetrating substance that will kill 
germs or foreign substances which may 
have been overlooked by even a skilled 
workman. For this I would recommend 
eight ounces of corrosive sublimate mixed 
in one gallon of wood alcohol, which I 
found ample to do the work. If the cavity 
is a large one, bolts should be placed so as 
to prevent the wood from drawing away 
from the filling and to prevent splitting. 
The best filling now known is concrete. 
This is not moisture-proof. Therefore, 
after all excavation has been done and be- 
fore the filling is made, the cavity should 
be painted with some water-proof paint. 
If this is applied thickly it will act as a 
cushion between the cement and live wood, 
often preventing the concrete from crack- 
ing during a heavy windstorm. The man 
doing the work should have a thorough 
knowledge of reinforced concrete. Rein- 
forcing rods should be freely used, as at 
times the wind either is twisting or direct 
pressure may throw all its strain upon the 
concrete. This is especially true where the 
cavity is in a limb. The wood of a tree is 
naturally pliable. A limb has a wide range 
in bending before breaking, while there is 
proportionately no elasticity in concrete, 
therefore concrete must be made rigid and 
strong enough to overcome any possible 
wind pressure. If the workman makes his 
fillings in sections from 12 to 16 inches 
long and inserts tar paper or any other 
proof cushion filler, the danger of cracks 
in cement will be minimized, as will also 
the danger of allowing moisture or other 
foreign matter to get between or behind 
the concrete filling. A limb which is weak- 
ened in this manner should be bolted or 
chained to another strong limb. All bolts 
should be sunk into the wood and filled 
over with concrete so as to give the bark 
