The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-04-20


 peaches, as well as many other shrubs and trees. Conditions during the past winter have been very favorable for the gfrdling of trees by mice. Field mice were abundant and the STOW was deeper than usual and stayed on for Q longer period of time. affording the cover under which mice prefer to work. If the ground was covered with a heavy mulch of weeds and grass the damage has in most cases been greater than where the orchard has been kept fairly clean.
 In this bulletin we confine the dis cUsSion to apples, to show as briefly as possible a method of bridge-graf ing which is both practical and eff cient for saving trees which have been gird1ed by mice, and give our observations on methods for the pre- vention of the injury.
 Treatment of Injured Trees.
 If the trees are small, it is Often best to pull them out and replant. If injured high up on the trunk, the en- tire upper portion should be removed and new sprouts grown from below the injury and above the point where budded or grafted. If the trees have been planted several years they can be saved by bridge grating, without sacrificing the time necessary to grow new trees lO d Sll1lIdT S4ZS.
 . Bridge-Graftins.
 Bridges grating is not nearly as complicated an operation as many suppose, and if done carefully a large percentage of damaged trees can be saved. The question may be raised whether trees which have been ! bridge -grafted will live as long as normal trees. To this we can answer that while we have not lived long enough to get final proof on this point, several different cases have come un- der observation where the bridge grafted trees so far are in a healthy condition and are not seriously dis turbed in their normal growth or pro- duction of fruit. These trees would have been in the wood pile had noth ing been done, and even if their lives are shortened ten years from the nor nal life of uninjured trees the graft ing has been worth while.
 Bridge grating consists in bridging the area from which the bark has been gnawed with scions inserted in 1 the bark above and below the wound at intervals around the trunk of the tree, these scions taking the place of and performing the functions of the bark.
 The only tool needed is very sharp knife, and the mistake of thinking | that a knife once sharpened will all ways be sharp should not be made. The grafting knife needs frequent | honing on a fine stone. A supply ot melted grating wax, with the neces- sary containers for wax and hot wa 1 ter, and an old paint brush, complete i the necessary equipment. It is advis- able to paint the exposed wood of the girdled tree with melted grafting wax white lead and oil hefOra i to prevent drying of the wood and 1 also to prevent, as far as possible, the setting in of decay. Trees over four years old should be cut back one-ha1f i to reduce the leaf area and thus pre- l vent evaporation of moisture during l the first season.
 i The success of bridge e-grafting de- bends on having the scions perfectly fresh and on thorough waxing at once
 of all exposed wood and openings made where the scions are set. If care is taken on these two points, one may be reasonably sure of success in saving a large percentage of the trees. 1 Means of Prevention. | From our observations, wrapping the trees with cheap tarred paper is the only sure method of preventing the girdling of trees by mice. Occas- ionally an over-ambitious mouse will gnaw through the paper, but in such cases the injury to the tree is usually slight. Quarter-inch mesh galvanized