are improved by the use of a handful of
ground lime mixed with the soil in preparing these pockets which will
later constitute the ball surrounding the roots of the tree to be
transplanted.

There is a tendency in grafted trees to produce sprouts below the graft.
Unless these are rubbed off, the grafted portion will become discouraged
and the tree will revert to a seedling variety. Filberts should never be
allowed more than two or three stems, or trunks, while one is more
preferable. If they are allowed to have more, they will produce a rank
growth of wood but only a few, if any, nuts. I stress, by repeating,
that trees should not be planted too deeply and that great care must be
taken to eliminate air pockets. Extra effort and nursing of transplanted
trees during the first season will be repaid by their successful
development and growth.

It is a wise precaution to place a protective screen around the trunk of
each tree to prevent rodents from attacking it. Mice gnaw off the bark
near the ground, sometimes girdling a tree and so killing it. Rabbits
chew off branches and they, too, may girdle the upper part of a tree.
Rabbits are very fond of pecan and hickory bark. In some places, it may
be necessary to encircle each pecan and hickory tree with a three or
four-foot rabbit fence until the tree is large enough to lose its appeal
to these nuisances.

Compared with the number of insects which infest fruit trees, very few
attack nut trees. One of those which does is the walnut-leaf
caterpillar. These appear as a closely congregated group of small worms
which feed on the leaves of black walnut and hickory trees during the
latter half of the summer season. Very often they are all to be found
on a single leaf, which should be picked from the tree and crushed
underfoot. A simple spray of lead arsenate of the strength recommended
by companies selling spray material, will effectively rid trees of these
pests. Another insect often found in a nut orchard is the oak tree
girdler, which also is active in the latter part of the summer. It often
causes limbs as large as an inch in diameter to be cut through and to
fall to the ground. By removing such freshly girdled branches and
cutting into the hollow made by the larva, it is possible to find the
live worm and destroy it. A good way to combat this pest is to keep each
tree pruned of all dead branches and to burn all broken and dead wood
each fall. While some nut trees are subject