368 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[ December, 



teriiil, all rich in carbon, containing respectively 

 80, 90 and 92 per cent, of that element. The 

 lic:ht yielded on burning the oils ia remarkable 

 for its whiteness and steadiness, and i.s said to be 

 suitable for lighthouse illumination. 



We call attention to this because we believe 

 there are many dry sections or sandy sections of 

 our country which people think worthless, that 

 might be profitably planted with some kinds of 

 Pine trees. Some species send numerous roots 

 deep down into the ground, which enables them 

 to hold on well in the dryest seasons. Thirty 

 years ago most of the land between London and 

 Southampton, in England, was a barren heath, 

 and regarded as utterly unfit for any cultural 

 purposes. Since then it has been sown with 

 Scotch Pine, and as the writer of this has re- 

 cently seen, with great success. No doubt much 

 of our Colorado barren lands could be success- 

 fully stocked with forests of some deep-rooting 

 Pine trees. We should not be surprised to 

 learn that Pinus pungens would thrive very well 

 there, as we have seen it do well in some re- 

 markably dry spots. 



The Cork Tree in California. — Cork trees 

 at Sonoma, from seed twenty years ago, and now 

 twenty-five feet high, and a sheet of cork an 

 inch and a quarter thick was taken from it last 

 year. It will not stand the winters of Pennsyl- 

 vania. 



American Gum Arabic. — At a recent meeting 

 of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Scien- 

 ces, some gum from the Pi'osopis glandulosa, or 

 Mesquite, was presented by Mr.W. H. Dougherty, 

 and seems to justify the following which we 

 find in the Journal of Microscopy : 



" It is said that the mesquite gum of Western 

 Texas is almost identical with gum Arabic, and 

 during the past year, has become an article of 

 export, some twelve thousand pounds having 

 been gathered in Bexar county, and as much 

 more between that and the coast. This gum 

 exudes from the stem and branches of the mes- 

 quite, a mimosa, several species of which grow 

 in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. 



Growth of the Pecan-nut Hickory. — Our 

 experience in Pennsylvania with the Pecan-nut 

 Hickory, led us to believe that this would be one 

 of the most ra]1id growing and profitable timber 

 trees to plant, and that it would be well worth 

 the attention of planters. For the nuts, it would 

 be worthless north of the Potomac in the Atlan- 

 tic States, but for timber it would no doubt do 

 well even in New England. The following from 



a Mr. Harrison, a correspon(ient of the Prairie 

 Farnm confirms this view : 



"The Cottonwood Wiis hardy and of rapid 

 growth, but worthless as a timber tree and very 

 inferior a.s fuel. The Locust would sprout from 

 the root so iis to become a nuisance, and the 

 borers ruined the groves. The Gray Willow did 

 not realize the anticijiation formed of it even as 

 a fencing material. The Soft Majile was valua- 

 ble for wind-breaks and for fuel, but was not a 

 timber tree. At this point I thought of the Pe- 

 can (Carya oliviformis), a si>ecies of Hickory, a 

 native of the Illinois and Mississippi valleys. I 

 satisfied myself, by experiment and investiga- 

 tion, of its value as a timber tree — wagon and 

 carriage-makers, wherever they had used it, tes- 

 tifiying to its value, as being equal to the best 

 of White Ash for all purposes of buggy or car- 

 riage manufacture, possessing equal durability 

 and greater strength and elasticity. At various 

 points on the Mis.sissippi river, steamboat car- 

 penters who have used it, find it valuable timber 

 in boat building. As a fuel it has no superior. 

 But would it grow and thrive on our prairies ? 



To test this, in the Fall of 1871 I dug up in 

 the bottom land along the Illinois river a dozen 

 or two young trees, heeled them in my garden 

 for the Winter, and in the Spring removed them 

 to my farm on the prairie. The Summer of 1872 

 was hot and dry ; but all the trees grew and did 

 finely. Next year I increased my plantir.g, and 

 thus far have three different settings of trees. I 

 find it as easily transplanted as any tree I have 

 ever handled, having never lost a tree of vigor- 

 ous growth, clean and healthy. By my advice, 

 several of my friends have procured and planted 

 this tree, and I have five hundred more which I 

 intend to plant the coming Spring. The Pecan 

 tree ordinarily commences bearing about eight 

 years of age. It bears one of the finest nuts, 

 wliich sold in the Cincinnati market for the past 

 six years, at an average price of $5 per bushel. 

 A gentleman in the southern part of the State, 

 who has a Pecan orchard, partly natural, which 

 he has increased by further planting, says it is of 

 more value to him yearly than his apple orchard. 

 The Pecan tree is grown readily from the nut, 

 if it is not allowed to become dry before plant- 

 ing. 



Sicilian Sumach. — It is said that besides the 

 Rhus coriaria, our common garden mist tree — 

 R. cotinus — enters largely into Sicilian Sumach. 



The L.\.cquer Tree.— Some interest was re- 

 cently created in Philadelphia by a letter to the 

 Public Ledger, by a Japanese gentleman who 

 came here to the Centennial, offering to intro- 

 duce the Lacquer tree and the Lacquer business to 

 Philadelphia. It does not seem well known that 

 our Rhus venenata is so nearly alike botanically 

 to the Lacquer tree of Japan, and its resinous 

 product so similar to that, that it would be worth 

 while to experiment with that before spending 



