St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1909-04-10
SOUTHERN
AGRICULTURE
Protecting Trees from Rabbits.

'$SE%'4F'S'S
Protecting Trees from Rabbits.
Young orchard trees should be pro
tected from rabbits for one or two
years after they have been set in the
orchard. There are two systems OF
protecting such trees, either of which
may be made fairly satisfactory. One
system consists of painting the trunk
and the lower branches with some
form of paint This paint usually con-
| ingredients like carbolic acid Or lit
| tie tar. The best formula is water,
one gallon; soap, one pound. carbolic
acid, two to four ounces. This can
| be painted on the trees with brush
Or swab of rags tied on the end OF a
stick Some prefer to modify this
! formula by adding enough Venetian
red to give the mixture good pink
cream. Paris green is sometimes ad-
ded to this mixture, but it is of doubt
full value. The point is Of value only
as it prevents the rabbits from bark
ing the trees; killing the rabbits is of
very little Importance. Blood from
slaughter houses has been used with
good results. Thick white lead in
linseed oil has been used successfully
by some farmers but most people
would be afraid of bad results follow
ing the use of the oil. Any mixture
that will wash off must be reapplied
two or three times during the season.
Axle grease and coal tar have been
used frequently and almost uniformly
injure the trees. The axle grease
may be used on the trunks of trees
five or six years old without any in
jury but such trees do not need pro-
lection from rabbits.
The other system of protecting the
trees consists of wrapping the trunk
and larger limbs of the trees with
some material that prevents the rab-
bits from reaching the bark. Rags,
heavy building paper, grass rope,
screen wire, veneer wood, and corn
stalks are all used for this work with
good results. Any material that wraps
tight about the trunk of the tree must
be removed in early spring. Screen
wire, veneer wood, or corn stalks may
be bound loosely about the trunk of
the tree and may be left on for two
or three years. This does not injure
the tree, as is frequently supposed,
by forming harbor for insects. The
insects that work on the trunk of the
tree do not seek protection in such
places, but on the contrary usually at
tack trees that have the trunk or
larger limbs badly sunburned or scald-
ed. For this reason, the use of wood
tree protectors, wrapping with corn
stalks, and material of that kind
seems to give the best satisfaction of
any material used The corn stalks
can be easily prepared by cutting the
stalks with knife and sticking one
end of the STALK in the ground and
tying the tops close to the top of the
trunk of the tree. By using the stalks
in this way, a perfect protection can
be formed for the tree and one that
VIII last LII t"o Vi IuICS years anu
finally fall away of decay without any
injury to the tree. 1t is as important
to protect the trunk of the trees dnr-
ing the summer as it is during the
winter. The rabbits injure the trees
in the winter and the hot sun and
borers during the summer. Trees that
are well protected from the sun sell
dom suffer badly from the effects of
borers, and for this reason, it is evil
dent that the protection that will
shield the tree from the sun and last
two or three years is an ideal protec-
tor to use.-Report, Ok Ayr. Elk. Sta.