Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1909-01-16

TREE SURGERY.
sHow Cement Is Used to the Preserva.
ton Of Valuable Trees.


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What is tree surgery? In so far as
1t applies to the cement work alone a
good answer would be that it is the
practical application OF dentistry to
trees, says Cement Age, New York.
But this answer would not cover the
many branches of the profession, con
sisting of trimming, claiming. packing.
scraping, spraying and fertilizng. Tree
surgery is, in fact, an advanced devel-
opment of arboriculture. Both fruit
and shade trees are valued now as
never before, and the fact has become
generally known that by skillful meth
DDS of the tree surgeon 1t Is possible
to give new lease OF life to trees
which apparently had reached their
limit of existence. II is safe to say
that almost any tree of medium age
may be saved by these methods. OF
the many branches embraced in this
work the cement filling forms by far
the largest and most important part.
The practice of filling cavities with
cement has long been in use, but when
carried out along the usual lines it
only serves to add to the original trOu
BILE. The method of sealing up the
decayed section simply increased the
decay. Many examples may be seen
where the bark at one side of the
cavity was covered by the cement. no
regard having been paid to drainage
or the subsequent healing of the
"a lid M CT, Il ~.
the wood and the swaying of the tree
by the wind often enlarged the crack
between the wood and the filling, wa.
ter penetrated behind the cement and
decay went on even more rapidly than
baGDre.
The tree grows in girth by the de
post of thin layer of new wood be-
tween the wood and the bark. There
are three layers In this coat-the mid
die one being composed of thin form
ing tissues known as the "cambium Z
The inner side of this layer forms new
wood. the outer new bark. 1t is this
new layer and the layers of the four
or FIVE previous years that are known
as the sapwood, and form the active
section of the trunk and branches.
The cells of these inner rings are
gradually covered by the yearly de-
post of new growth, and from living
sapwood become heartwood, which is
dead and serves merely as a strong
framework for the living parts of the
tree and as storehouses for excess ma
terial
This is often the reason why hollow
trees may often be found In flourish.
ing condition when the heartwood may
have entirely disappeared. However,
a landscape tree in this condition, de.
prived of the shelter of it's fellows, is
in grave danger for a high wind or
heavy snowfall may find it an easy
victim.
After the mass of decay has been re.
moved from the interior of q rotting
trunk there remains shell of living
sapwood and bark. Into this cavity a
steel brace is inserted and bolted in
place. This gives to the tree sta
bility which by the decay of the sup
porting heartwood 1t had lost. Now
comes an important operation, the cut
ting of the watersheds, which prevent
the entrance of moisture. The water
sheds consist of deep groove cut
about an inch inside the edge and
opening to the ground below. The ce-
ment, being packed tightly into these
grooves, forms channel down which
the water flows, to be led out at the
base. The cavity is then wired
throughout, the wire being stretched
from nails driven into the wood. and
acting as reinforcing for the cement.
This work having been completed, the
cement is made as moist as possible.
outline OF the tree. The bark which has
been cut back for an inch or so in
order to prevent bruising while the
work is in progress will eventually
cover the filled in wound, the tree thus
regaining its normal appearance.
In the base of exceptionally large
cavities the opening is covered by
large strips of zinc. The cement is
then forced down into every crevice
and allowed to set, after which the
zinc is removed and coat of fine fin
ishing cement put on and painted the
color OF the bark. BY this method the
tree surgeon is enabled to build out
trees where fully half the wood may
have been destroyed by lightning or
from some other cause. This treat
ment serves as fine example of the
healing powers of nature, for 1t is re-
markable how quickly these wounds
will heal when protected from moist.
ure and further decay by the cement
filling insured by the watersheds.