The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1912-01-25
METHODS OF REPAIR
FOR DAMAGED TREES
By PRor. ". II. LAwRENcr.

done considerable injury to fruit trees.
especially the one and two year old, 10
/ breaking off the tops or branches or
badly splitting the branches in the
crotches. The repairing of these trees
should be done at once. The branches
which are split in the crotches, car be
saved unless so nearly torn of that the
growing tissues of the bark are so bad
/ ly injured that they will not start a
new growth. by bringing them back ia
place and tying them firmly to other
| branches in such manner as 10 sup
port them. Ii is advisable in most
cases to fasten the branch more Sc
curely in place and to draw the injured
surfaces as tightly together as possi-
BILE by using nail or preferably bolt
of convenient size. For the smaller
trees a slender galvanized shingle nail
with a large head is most serviceable.
In all cases where the nail is of sutii-
cient length to protrude on the oppos te
side of the stem the point should be
bent downward lengthwise with the
stem so that it will not act as a girdle
as will be the case when bent sideways
and clinched. In all cases where the
limb is of sufficient size to admit using
bolt the same should be used. The
advantage in using a bolt over the nail
is in drawing the injured surfaces
tightly together IN which position they
must remain since the bolt will not
pull loose as sometimes occura when a
nail is used. In using a bolt the best
results may be had by removing a ring
of bark on either side of the stem the
size of the head of the bolt SO that
when the bolt is in place the head and
nut both rest against the wood. The
hole through the stem should be the
same size of the bot. The nut should
be placed on, without a washer, with
the rounding side toward the wood.
Cut off the end of the bolt in all cases
where it long enough to extend past
the nut. A bolt with a round, fat
head is much more desirable than a
square headed one. After the branches
have been put back In place and Sc
curely fastened wax or paint the in
jured surfaces to protect them from
air and moisture. In case there is a
large. amount of repair work to be done
it is perhaps best to use very thick
white lead paint since the same may
be used readily at low temperature.
| The paint is only recommended as a
temporary covering since it is tedious
work to use the grating wax at this
time. ALI wounds should receive an
application of grating wax during
early spring and before drying weather
occurs. The wax provides a coat of
some thickness which will exclude the
air and moisture, prevent the surface
from drying and checking thus eXclud
ing the spores of fungi which so fire.
quently gain entrance through wounds
and induce heart rots which ultimately
kill or weaken the trees so that they
do not produce profitable crops. Young
trees when stripped of their branches
may be cut off at the lowest point Of
injury and new top grown from dor
mant buds of the stem or at the crown
below the surface of the soil To in
sure the growth of new top it is an
excellent plan to graft the trunk with
a scion taken from a healthy tree Of
known variety that is known to pro-
duce heavy yields of healthy fruit true
to type. TO remove a strong growing
root and replace it with tree from
the nursery is a mistake. The we'll
established root system will in two or
three years produce a top growth that
will be nearly as large if not as large
as one on an uniHjured specimen OF the
same seasons setting.
Generally grating wakes have not
given very satisfactory results. The
following formula ard method of mix
ing produces wax that gives almost
universal satisfaction and is the only
one recommended for orchard work.
TO prepare the wax use rosin, 5
pounds; beeswaX, / pound; charcoal
(pulverized very tinely) J pound; raw
linseed oil, ] gill
Melt the rosin and beeswax together
over slow fire. Stir in the charcoal
slowly in order to make smooth mix
ture. Then stir in the raw inseed oil.
This wax will become very hard Be
fore cooling pour it IN pans or pi per
boxes which have been coated With oil
or grease of some form. Large guam
titles may be made at one time and
stored until needed as this wax may be
kept indefinitely To apply this wax
it must be melted and applied while
warm. A small paint brush is the
most desirable tool for making appl-
cation. A special grating pot is found
most serviceable while using this wax.
A plan of the pot may be had at the
office of the plant pathologist