ARBORICULTURE 



/? 



The Eucalyptus. 



THE Bureau of Forestry announces a 

 bulletin to be issued shortly on the 

 Eucalyptus as cultivated in this 

 country, and in that bulletin the subject 

 will probably be handled from a technical 

 standpoint. It is my purpose in this 

 sketch to speak of the tree from a prac- 

 tical standpoint only, showing;' some of the 

 uses to which it has been and may be 

 put, how to plant and cultivate the tree, 

 where to plant, etc. 



As to uses. The first and most natu- 

 ral service is to be found in the remark- 

 able beauty of -the tree growing in arid 

 and treeless sections. In California, 

 along the highways, the tree with its 

 towering foliage lends remarkable relief 

 to an otherwise barren and desolate 

 landscape. Not only as a shade, but also 

 as a relief to the monotony of the view, 

 it is worth while to plant it. But so far 

 the most practical use to which it has 

 been put, aside from its forestry efifect 

 on the rainfall, is as a domestic fuel sup- 

 ply. On account of its well-known rapid 

 growth, groves planted twenty-five to 

 forty years have been supplying cooking 

 fuel for years, and while as a fuel it 

 does not rank with the hardwoods, yet 

 considering that it makes a growth in 

 twenty-five years equal to the hardwoods 

 in 300 years, its value may readily be 

 appreciated. I have cut trees that made 

 as many as seven cords of stove wood, 

 and after standing ricked for a few 

 weeks it burned freely, enabling a meal 

 to be prepared in a few minutes, and 

 making the miaximum fuel yield in the 

 shortest time from any fuel available in 

 that state. While it ranks as a "soft 

 wood," yet when cut a very short time, 

 the grain being rather fine, it becomes 

 very hard to cut, indicating that for fram- 

 ing material in coarse construction work, 

 the timber may be very useful. In con- 

 struction of barns and outbuildings there 

 is no reason why this new timber may 

 not become an important and economical 

 factor. 



How to plant and grow it. The seeds 

 are planted in shallow furrows, similar 

 to other nursery stock, and should be 

 cultivated for one or two vears before 



transplanting. In planting the grove, the 

 distance may be made not to exceed ten 

 feet apart, allowing for a ten years" 

 growth, and then if desired cut out "alter- 

 nate trees for use, allowing the remain- 

 ing double space, which will be ample 

 for the greatest growth attainable. There 

 has not been to my knowledge any ex- 

 periment made with it as sawed lumber. 

 But there is no reason why it would not 

 be valuable in that way. The great fea- 

 ture of the tree is its adaptability to an\- 

 sort of soil or environment. It has been 

 equally thrifty in dry, rocky hill land as 

 in swampy corners. And owing to the 

 great penetration of root, it has been 

 found that wet land has become arable 

 owing to the roots breaking up the hard 

 pan, allowing the water to percolate to 

 the sand or gravel substrata, thus acting 

 as a draining system for wet spots. In 

 the matter of climatic range the experi- 

 ment has not been tried to test this point. 

 Authorities usually give it a range in 

 temperature down to thirty degrees. But 

 as it is very hardy where tested, there 

 is no good reason that I know of wh}- 

 it could not be successfully grown as far 

 north as perhaps Kentucky or Tennessee. 

 Certainly Alabama, and all further south- 

 ern states east of the ^[ississippi would 

 (fo well to plant abandoned farm lands 

 to this promising specimen of imjiorted 

 forestry. Gullied fields now abandoned 

 to bramble and sage grass would soon 

 be reclaimed to fertile lands by a few 

 }ears' growth of this tree. 



There have been many medicinal quali- 

 ties claimed for the tree, and in Califor- 

 nia an extensive industry has been estab- 

 lished in making Eucalypus oil, used 

 both as a liniment and internal remedy 

 for various ailments. But this feature is 

 a small consideration in advocating the 

 planting of waste land to Eucalypus 

 groves. 



It would certainly afiford substantial 

 benefit in sections bordering rivers, where 

 the natural forestry has been destroyed 

 in the pursuit of lumber and for clearing- 

 land for cultivation. The frequent re- 

 curring floods due to the deforestration 

 along the waterways may be entirely 



