[Illustration: FIG. 120--The Same Cavity Properly Filled.]

Trees that tend to split: Certain species of trees, like the linden and
elm, often tend to split, generally in the crotch of several limbs
and sometimes in a fissure along the trunk of the tree. Midwinter is
the period when this usually occurs and timely action will save the
tree. The remedy lies in fastening together the various parts of the
tree by means of bolts or chains.

A very injurious method of accomplishing this end is frequently
resorted to, where each of the branches is bound by an iron band and
the bands are then joined by a bar. The branches eventually outgrow
the diameter of the bands, causing the latter to cut through the
bark of the limbs and to destroy them.

Another method of bracing limbs together consists in running a
single bolt through them and fastening each end of the bolt with a
washer and nut. This method is preferable to the first because it
allows for the growth of the limbs in thickness.

[Illustration: FIG. 121.--Diagram Showing the Triple-bar Method of
Fastening Limbs.]

A still better method, however, consists in using a bar composed of
three parts as shown in Fig. 121. Each of the two branches has a
short bolt passed through it horizontally, and the two short bolts
are then connected by a third bar. This arrangement will shift all
the pressure caused by the swaying of the limbs to the middle
connecting-bar. In case of a windstorm, the middle bar will be the
one to bend, while the bolts which pass through the limbs will