Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-08-03
Tree SURGERY is
LIKE DENTISTRY
Care of Shade Trees Science
More Generally Appreciat-
ed Every Year.
CARELESSNESS is COSTLY
Dept. of Agriculture Warns Against
Use of Pruning Hooks and
Climbing Irons.

like a cavity in a decayed tooth. If
an unreliable tree surgeon who has
| been called in to save the tree only
/ partially removes the diseased part
of the wood, uses no antiseptic coat
ings in the cavity and fills it up with
than is a person whose decayed tooth
has not been properly filed by den
list. The only difference is that after
the tree cavity has been covered, il
the work has not been properly done,
the tree has no way of making its
trouble known except by further de-
cay.
Within the last decade there has
been a great increase in demand for
surgeons to repair decaying shade
trees, but the possibilities of practic-
ing fraud in this profession like the
instance just cited have tempted so
many unreliable people to dabble in
the science that tree surgery has fall
len somewhat into disrepute. The U.
S. department of agriculture realizes
that commercial tree surgery should
occupy a high place in the estima-
ton of the public, and has recently
issued a pamphlet entitled, 'Practi-
cal Tree Surgery" wherein sugges-
tions are made for improvement along
these lines.
Dishonest Tree Doctors.
AS in all profession, there are re-
liable and unreliable men and firms
competing for contracts in tree surge
ry. In recent years so many occasions
have arisen when property owners
felt the necessity of calling in COM
mercial tree surgeons to attend to
their trees that there are now num-
erous firms, both honest and dishon-
est, engaged in the work. Usually
tree surgery is practiced in connec-
ton with some nearly related line,
but often it is taken up as a bust
ness of itself. When a blight such as
the chestnut bark disease, infects the
trees of a district the community. or
individuals in it, will often spend con-
siderable money to control ravages
which may rob the whole district of
it's trees. An affection like the chest
nut bark disease is contagious. 1t re-
quires scientific knowledge of the di-
sease to know whether an affected
tree should be destroyed at once or
is worth treating. 1t requires scienti-
fic training to understand the man.
ner of growth of the fungi causing
the disease and what treatment is
best.
Many individuals who have had faith
in tree surgery have lost it through
following the advice of unreliable tree
xr-t,n loft tn hA 10
diagnose a case, but whose main in
terest was to collect a good sum of
money for their work.
Misuse of Pruning Hooks.
Besides the Careless filling of de-
cayed cavities in trees there are 9TH
er practices of certain so-called tree
that do the trees more
harm than good. Many of these sur |
geons" as well as the people who en-
ploy them do not realize the dang
er arising from fresh injuries to a
tree. The tree owner should realize |
that prompt attendance to fresh injur- |
les will largely do away with the need |
of tree surgery 10 or 20 years hence. |
The tree surgeons must realize that |
il they make fresh injuries in the |
living bark, when treating decayed-por- |
tons, they are laying the tree open |
to more dangers of infection that will |
result in further decay.
Just as a person is subject to infec- |
ton through cuts and scratches, trees |
are rendered subject TO infection by |
having their living bark torn. Not |
this. many tree surgeons
use pruning hooks and climbing spurs |
. nnf in he To
break off small dead branches a work
man may use a long pruning hook !
IS though it were a club. In doing
so the hook usually causes injury to
the young bark near by. Every new
wound may furnish new point of en-
france for decay, even though the old
lead branch may have been removed.
The use of climbing spurs should |
avoided on trees in vicin-
ties where there is a contagious in
lection. They simply render the
.reated tree all the more liable to
latch the disease which is lin the air."
All properly equipped firms of COM
nercial surgeons should have ladders Il
hat would reach 40 or more feet into
tree. Ladders. ropes and rubber
oled shoes will allow a man to reach I
every part. Reliable esti-
mates indicate that it takes somewhat
onger (perhaps 20 per cent on an
-verage) to do work on a tree when
hese are used instead OF climbing
purs. and this is one reason why
many firms who value remuneration
more than reputation use the spurs.
To Minimize unreliablIity.
The L. s. department OF agriculture
5 suggesting a plan that may help
'ut commercial tree surgery on a bet.
er basis. Owners are urged 10 have
definite written contract with the