4 STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE 
and the reserve food and moisture may all be used before the root 
system is in a condition to supply more. 
Is it any wonder, then, that the failure to cut back the tops of 
newly planted trees results in the death of many of them ? This 
is especially true in Colorado as the dry air and intense sunshine 
cause the young trees to dry out rapidly. 
It is also true that many nurserymen, as well as fruit growers, 
are careless in handling trees before they are planted. Not infre¬ 
quently the roots are exposed for hours to the drying action of 
wind and sun. One must take the chances of such treatment from 
the nurserymen but after the trees have been received by the grow¬ 
er there is no excuse for neglect in this respect. The trees should 
be heeled in deeply at once in damp soil and when planting the 
work should be so arranged that the roots of each tree shall be ex¬ 
posed to the air for the shortest possible time. 
All bruised and torn roots should be carefully removed, leaving 
smoothly cut ends which will readily heal; if this is not done decay 
is apt to set in which may seriously injure the tree. Long strag¬ 
gling roots may well be shortened and if a tangled mass of fine 
roots are present they should be shortened and thinned. Some 
successful growers also insist that where large spreading roots oc¬ 
cur a slanting cut should be made so that the cut surface may 
rest flat upon the ground. 
It would seem to be almost superfluous to insist on the impor¬ 
tance of having all nursery stock inspected by the County Inspec¬ 
tors, yet there are a few who try each year to evade the law in this 
respect. There are several insect pests and plant diseases, which 
are very common on young trees, all of which may be easily over¬ 
looked by anyone who is not thoroughly familiar with them. The 
wooly aphis is such an insect and it is doing a great amount of 
damage in all sections of the state-. This insect lives on the roots 
of trees and is introduced to our orchards almost wholly by infected 
nursery stock. When once established it spreads rapidly and is al¬ 
most impossible to eradicate. Crown gall is a common disease in 
many nurseries and it attacks all kinds of fruit trees. It is the 
worst kind of folly to plant a tree which has a trace of this disease, 
for not only is the tree pretty sure to die before it comes into full 
bearing but the infection may be spread by the cultivator or in the 
irrigation water to all parts of the orchard. A statement made in a 
former bulletin on the subject of inspection will bear repetition 
here: 
. . AM possible assistance should be given the County Inspectors in 
their inspection of nursery stock. In counties where many trees are be¬ 
ing planted, sufficient assistance should be provided, so that there will be 
no possibility of any shipments being overlooked. And finally some 
means should be devised whereby the importance of inspection can be im¬ 
pressed on the growers since, in some instances, they antagonize the in- 
