The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-15
SICK TREES NEED DOCTOR
 JUST LIKE HUMAN BEINGS
How Handsome Magnolia Is Being Treated In Birmingham
 For Cancer-Disease Brought On By Freeze
.y WALTER HARPER.

l any cut De lett that Is not perfectly smooth, even if knife or chisel is need
 ed to dress it down.,
 'It is necessary that the small leafy
 twigs, water sprouts, or suckers, be re-
 moved from the limbs of oaks, elms, etc,
 of this section of the country (especial- I ly water oaks), so as to allow free cir
 culation of air and light through the
 trees vitality and in some cases the tree
 needs to be thinned out to give better | proportion to the crown.
 Tn heading in a tree care wants to be taken that all cuts are made slantng, | for to make a square cut will be to leave flat surface to catch and hold water and allow 1t to soak down into tke body of the limb.
 Cause of Cancer.
 'The rotten and rotting cavities in the trunk and limbs of trees are very siml- lar in effect to that of cancer on
 human being. They are unsightly and
 cause loss of vitality to the tree that will in few years cause 1t to die. These cavities arc the result of injuries I inflicted by horses biting trees on the Slieets, DelnB SIruck Dy wagons ana Dy I improper pruning (butchery). By far the greatest injury done to trees is the re- {, suit of allowing inexperienced or ignorant I parties to get in them with a saw and l without knowing why cut out such l limbs as their fancy directs, regardless l of the injuries suffered by the tree. When ever 9 cavity develops in tree it should I be treated by a practical tree surgeon I if any value is placed on the tree. A tree
 man who understands his business would clean every particle of the dead and dis eased wood out and fill the cavity, which I he will shape so as to retain the filling, with cement, thereby excluding all mois- ture and preventing germs from getting | into the sound wood, and at the same l time strengthening the tree.
 "The bark of the tree will grow over l this filling and in few years will com I pletely heal over it.
 Specimens of Work
 l Specimens of this work can be seen on | the small water oak trees on the street in 1 front of the home of MT. W. H. Mer- I r.tt 2220 Highland avenue where the 1 bark begun to grow over the filings. Work more recently done, but which will
 be grown over in a few years, can be seen
 at MT W. B. Fowll1es, 14O3 South Twen-
 ty-first street, or MT. J. T. Doster, 22oO | Fourteenth avenue. south. or at R.. D. |
 as well as at the home of MT. w. r. G. 1 Harding at Glen Iris.
 Trees which are forked or have limbs which stand out at a sharp angle should be braced with cables or chains to pre- l ent them from splitting or breaking off. 1 "These braces should be fastened 10 screw hooks put into the limbs and not | aror-d them as putting them around a I limb would cut off circulation and the | bark growing around the brace would
 weaken the limb so that in time it will break Specimens of trees that have been l il properly pruned can be seen on all sides and are too numerous to deserve any special mention.
 Serious cases of cancer can he seen 1 at 212O Seventh avenue, north, as well as In front of 1881 Eighth avenue. north.
 "A great many trees especially in places | where the lots are filled in, are suffer l ing from what is commonly known as malnutrition or want of nourishment.
 This is treated by feeding the trees or
 liquid fertilizers, which are put oo"n U
 tho small fiberous roots by means of pipes
 put In the ground. Cases of Mal-Nutrition
 'Trees needing feeding are to be found on the place of MT. W. H. Taylor, Tweh- 1 ty-second avenue and Twenty-fifth street | r'orth. There is also a holly tree on the place of MT Otto Marx. 26o0 Highland avenue, that was planted about year ago. that needs nourishment on account ol having had the roots cut of at the time | iJ was moved. Mrs. B. F. Kerr, ll4z | Twelfth street. north, has an oak tree l that is in need of feeding caused by the ground washing, and taking the iife-gN- | ing clements out of the soil.
 "This tree is also affected with cancer | and borens borens being one of the many insect pests that prey on trees .'The trees on South Highlands, espe- cially, are practically all infested With one or more of the numerous scaps thal sap the life out of trees and unless tnsy receive attention and are sprayed and treated complete in the very near future they will be so badly infected that II
 will De almost impossible to save them. do not believe that more than u lew o. +ha trees in that section of the city will be alive ten years from now ana relieve ten years to be very, very con servative estimate"