CHAPTER X
 

                        Care  of Old Trees.



One frequently sees, in old gardens especially, trees which, although aged

and decrepit, are still precious because of their  history and associations,

or valued perhaps for their size and rarity.  There can be no question

that  the term of years of many such trees is- shortened  by neglect and

wrong treatment.  The commonest sources of decay are starvation at the

root, droughty summers, and  fungoid parasites.   For remedying the first

the.  notes on mulching (p. 38)  should  be  consulted;  the second, of

course, is . a  question  of water supply; but these two together  do not

hasten the end of trees so much as disease, due  to the entry  of parasitic

fungi.  The most important  of all matters concerning the longevity of

trees is the  maintenance of a whole skin.  But  there  are  many ways in

which  it  may be  broken.   Insects may bore  through  the bark, frost

sometimes ruptures  it, and winds break off the branches and twigs.  The

last  is the  commonest  source  of decay,  augmented often  enough  in

gardens by the practice of leaving stumps so long that the bark  cannot

grow over them (adverted to  above), and by leaving raw surfaces  un¬

protected  by tar.  The raw or  jagged  surfaces afford a resting-place for

moisture and fungus-spores, decay commences and gradually finds  its way

inwards, until the trunk  is reached.  But if branches  or snags are sawn

off as advised above, and the wounds kept covered with tar, the new bark

commences  to creep over the cut surface from  both sides  until,  if it be

not too large, it fills  up  to the middle, and forms a perfect covering for

the wound, of which, in time, all evidences disappear.

   Treatment of Hollows  in Trees.—From what has just been  written

it will be seen that  the formation of hollows  by decay in the branches

and  trunks  of trees is to  a  great extent preventable.  With regard  to

hollows that  already exist,  the  following treatment is  recommended:

First remove all, or  as much as possible, of the  decayed wood, especially

the soft, brown, crumbling wood, and the soppy mass found at  the bottom.

Sound dead wood that has become dry and hard does not matter.   Then

wash-the  surface of the wood with a solution  of carbolic acid  or with

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