The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
Mice  an 
Fruit  growers  take  warning.— orchard- 
ists  should  be  on  the  watch  for  mice  and  rab¬ 
bit  damage.  During  Winters  of  abundant  snowfall, 
when  the  food  is  scarce,  these  animals  will  eat  the 
most  appetizing  material  at  hand,  which  is  often 
the  tender  bark  of  young  fruit  trees.  The  present 
Winter  has  been  almost  ideal  for  such  injury,  and 
indications  are  that  considerable  damage  has  been 
done  in  some  sections  of  the  southern  part  of  New 
England.  While  it  is  much  more  satisfactory  to 
save  trees  from  being  girdled  by  means  of  wire  pro¬ 
tectors,  poisoning  the  rodents,  mounding  the  trees 
with  soil  or  tramping  down  the  snow  about  the 
trunks,  if  girdling  occurs  every  effort  should  be  made 
to  save  the  girdled  trees  by  bridge-grafting. 
EFFECT  OF  GIRDLING  UPON  TREES— Trees 
girdled  only  part  way  about  the  trunk  may  recover 
by  the  bark  growing  again  over  the  wound.  Recov¬ 
ery,  however,  will  be  more  rapid  if  one  or  more 
bridge-grafts  are  inserted  over  the  girdled  area.  In 
the  meantime  the  bare  wood  surface  should  be 
coated  with  melted  grafting  wax,  white  lead,  or  the 
soil  may  be  banked  up  over  the  wound,  to  prevent 
drying  out.  A  tree  girdled  completely  about  the 
trunk,  if  left  to  itself,  will  usually  die  during  the 
first  year. 
BRIDGE-GRAFTING.  —  Bridge-grafting  consists 
of  connecting  the  cambium  layers  at  the  top  and 
bottom  of  the  girdled  area,  so  that  growth  may  be 
resumed  and  the  normal  functions  of  the  tree  re¬ 
stored.  The  connection  is  usually  made  with 
scions,  but  suckers  growing  from  the  base  of  the 
tree  may  be  inarched,  or  young  trees  may  be  planted 
about  the  base  of  the  tree  and  inarched. 
CARE  OF  TREES  WHEN  GIRDLED.  —  Trees 
which  are  girdled  should  be  protected  at  once  to  pre¬ 
vent  the  drying  out  of  the  wood  and  the  killing  of 
ari3’  particles  of  live  bark  which  may  be  left  by  the 
mice.  Such  small  particles  of  live  bark  may  live  and 
spread,  and  materially  assist  in  healing  over  the 
girdled  area.  In  some  cases  trees  which  have  been 
completely  girdled  have  survived  simply  by  protect¬ 
ing  these  particles  of  live  bark.  This  can  be  done  by 
painting  the  entire  wound  with  melted  grafting  wax, 
although  a  mixture  of  clay  and  cow  dung,  white 
lead  thinned  with  raw  linseed  oil,  or  banking  with 
earth,  will  serve  the  same  purpose.  Wrapping  with 
paper  or  burlap  will  help  to  some  extent,  but  it  will 
not  be  as  effective  as  the  methods  mentioned  above; 
neither  will  any  of  them  take  the  place  of  bridge¬ 
grafting. 
TIME  TO  BRIDGE-GRAFT.— In  the  Spring  when 
the  buds  begin  to  swell  and  the  bark  to  peel  easily 
A  Good  Job  of  Inarching.  Fig.  208 
d  Rabbit 
is  the  best  time  to  do  bridge-grafting,  as  growth 
starts  at  once,  and  there  is  less  chance  of  the  scions 
drying  out.  However,  if  a  large  number  of  trees 
ai'e  to  be  repaired,  the  work  may  be  started  on  any 
warm  day  in  the  early  Spring.  Scions  have  some¬ 
times  been  inserted  during  the  Summer  with  success 
to  replace  any  which  did  not  live. 
SCIONS. — Scions  should  be  of  mature  wood  cut 
from  the  previous  season's  growth.  The  best  scions 
are  those  about  the  size  of  a  lead  pencil.  They  may 
be  cut  from  any  healthy  tree  which  is  near  at  hand, 
The  First  Fall  After  Bridge-grafting,  Fig.  201) 
but  must  not  be  allowed  to  dry  out  before  using. 
Scions  cut  from  the  tree  to  be  bridge-grafted  will  be 
satisfactory  if  no  shriveling  has  occurred. 
METHODS  OF  BRIDGE-GRAFT ING. — There  are 
several  different  methods  of  bridge-grafting.  The 
first  steps  are  to  measure  the  width  of  the  part  to 
be  bridged  and  to  cut  the  scions.  (These  should  be 
an  inch  or  more  longer  than  the  wound.)  Bevel 
the  ends  of  the  scions  on  the  same  side,  making 
cuts  about  an  inch  long  at  each  end.  The  opposite 
side  may  be  trimmed  by  a  short  cut,  making  the 
finished  scion  slightly  chisel-shaped.  These  scions 
are  then  inserted  under  the  bark  at  both  edges  of 
the  wound.  Previous  to  inserting  the  scions  the 
irregular  edges  of  the  bark  at  the  upper  and  lower 
margins  of  the  girdle  should  be  cut  back  to  healthy 
live  wood.  When  placing  the  scions  it  may  be  found 
necessary  to  make  short  slits  in  the  edges  of  the 
bark  on  the  girdled  trees  so  as  to  facilitate  the  oper¬ 
ation.  In  order  that  the  cambium  layers  of  the 
stock  and  scion  may  be  held  in  close  contact,  a  brad 
can  be  driven  through  the  ends  of  the  scions  into  the 
tree.  Of  course,  the  scions  may  also  be  tied  to  hold 
them  securely  until  the  union  has  taken  place. 
Scions  should  be  inserted  about  every  two  inches 
around  the  girdled  portion,  and  when  the  bridging 
is  completed  the  area  about  the  ends  of  the  scions 
should  be  carefully  waxed  over  to  prevent  drying 
out  and  to  exclude  air  and  water.  Another  form  of 
bridge-grafting  which  the  writer  believes  will  some¬ 
times  be  found  more  convenient  than  the  method 
described  above,  and  equally  as  effective,  is  as  fol¬ 
lows:  Cuts  are  made  a  half  inch  or  more  above 
and  below  the  girdle,  through  the  bark  and  into  the 
sapwood.  In  fact,  a  small  chip  of  bark  and  wood 
can  be  removed  by  making  a  second  cut.  The  scions 
are  then  cut  with  wedge-shaped  ends  and  the  girdled 
area  bridged.  If  the  scions  are  cut  slightly  longer 
than  the  area  to  be  bridged,  they  can  be  sprung  into 
place,  and  will  remain  firm  without  nailing  or  tying. 
Damage 
Of  course,  all  exposed  area  should  be  carefully 
waxed,  as  in  the  previous  method. 
INARCHING. — Young  trees  are  sometimes  plant¬ 
ed  about  the  base  of  girdled  trees  and  inarched  just 
above  the  girdled  area  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
ends  of  the  scions  are  inserted.  This  method  is 
especially  valuable  when  the  girdled  area  extends 
down  the  main  roots  for  a  considerable  distance. 
Suckers,  which  are  often  found  growing  at  the  base 
of  trees,  may  be  inarched  in  the  same  manner. 
WAXING. — Waxing  is  very  important,  and  unless 
the  waxing  is  carefully  done,  the  best  job  of  grafting 
may  prove  a  failure.  The  ends  of  the  scions  and 
edges  of  the  wound  should  be  covered  with  grafting 
wax  to  prevent  drying  out.  Either  hard  or  melted 
wax  may  be  used,  but  the  work  can  be  done  much 
faster  by  using  the  melted  wax  and  applying  it  with 
a  brush.  The  grafting  wax  may  be  kept  in  a  liquid 
state  for  some  time  by  placing  the  container  in  a 
pail  of  hot  water.  When  it  is  necessary  to  keep  the 
wax  in  a  melted  state  for  several  hours,  bottom  heat 
should  be  applied  by  means  of  a  plumber’s  torch, 
small  oil  stove,  or  canned  heat.  Only  enough  lie.it 
should  be  applied  to  keep  the  wax  in  a  liquid  state. 
Wax  which  is  too  hot  is  likely  to  cause  injury.  A 
box  with  a  handle  may  be  improvised  to  carry  this 
outfit  so  as  to  facilitate  the  work.  If  the  wound 
is  near  or  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  the  earth 
may  be  mounded  up  over  the  bridge-graft.  This 
treatment  aids  in  preventing  drying  out  of  the  in¬ 
jured  parts.  If  the  wound  is  higher  up  on  the 
trunk,  the  bare  wood  surface  should  be  paiuted  with 
melted  grafting  wax  or  white  lead,  as  previously 
suggested. 
GRAFTING  WAX.— Grafting  wax  is  commonly 
made  by  melting  together:  4  lbs.  resin,  2  lbs.  bees¬ 
wax,  1  lb.  tallow.  One  pint  of  raw  linseed  oil  may 
be  substituted  for  the  tallow  if  more  convenient. 
After  the  materials  are  melted  the  liquid  may  be 
poured  into  a  pail  of  cold  water,  pulled  like  mo¬ 
lasses  candy,  wrapped  in  oiled  paper  and  stored  in  a 
cool  place  until  needed.  This  Avax  is  especially 
adapted  for  using  as  a  hard  wax.  A  better  wax  for 
applying  in  a  melted  state  is  made  by  the  following 
formula:  G  lbs.  resin,  1  lb.  beeswax,  1  pt.  linseed  oil. 
For  further  information  on  bridge-grafting  the 
reader  is  referred  to  United  State  Department  of 
Agriculture  Farmers’  Bulletin  No.  710,  “Bridge¬ 
grafting  of  Fruit  Trees”;  Connecticut  Extension  Bul¬ 
letin  No.  20,  “The  Protection  of  Fruit  Trees  from 
Mice  and  Other  Rodents”;  Massachusetts  Extension 
Leaflet  No.  8,  “The  Treatment  of  Girdled  Trees.” 
Connecticut  Fruit  Specialist.  w.  it.  daurow. 
Four  Years  After  Bridge-grafting.  Fig.  210 
