1876.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



311 



—which by the way is a mass of trunks, not a 

 single one— take the palm for growth of 4,000 

 years;, let African baobab trees reach back still 

 nearer to the Grarden of Eden ; let Palestine 

 boast of her cedars of Lebanon growing since 

 Moses' time, and let Australia present upon 

 every exploration by the close observer, trees of 

 undeterminable ancient origin ; all these trees 

 of the old world almost, without exception, are 

 elow-growing, fine-grained, stunted, gnarled, de- 

 crepit, unsightly old relics of past ages — only in- 

 teresting because of their great age. 



The famous baobab, Adansonia digitata, is 

 the largest in circuit at base of any tree yet 

 known, but it is only 70 to 80 feet high. The 

 cedar of Lebanon, with annual layers, so fine 

 that a lens is necessary to distinguish them, is 

 eimilar in shape, the trunk an abruptly tapering 

 Bpike. 



Now all observers admit that the California 

 Big Trees, with their vast straight-fluted col- 

 umns, 200 to 300 feet high, and their immense 

 crowns of finely divided, evergreen branches, 

 are the most symmetrical and magnificent in 

 form, the tallest and actually the largest in di- 

 mensions of any yet known in all the world. 

 How satisfying to the pride of a true American, 

 to reflect upon the inference derived from this 

 comparatively new fact — formerly a most un- 

 welcome one to the thoughtless, insomuch that 

 loyal Californians prove their loyalty by declar- 

 ing their belief in the great age of the Big 

 Trees ; hence the warfare to which Dr. Gray re- 

 fers, and the great but pardonable assistance 

 given to the erring side by eminent writers 

 through their praiseworthy love of country. 



But Science always searches for the truth. 

 Sooner or later the facts will come to be believed, 

 and they are always best. And the truth, in this 

 case so long repressed, is most welcome, because 

 it gives foundation for the most reasonable and 

 enthusiastic loyalty. Why, these grand giant 

 trees are mere vigorous saplings yet, only 1,200 

 to 1,500 years old ! Ages hence full-grown trees 

 may be seen 50 feet in diameter and 1,000 feet 

 high, only limited by the proximity of brother 

 trees and the depth of the valleys where found. 

 We can't expect them to be so unneighborly as 

 to choke their brothers to death, nor to rise 

 above the leveling winds that sweep over the 

 canons of the Sierra. So let the old world pride 

 itself upon old things, old nations, old creeds, 

 old arts, old customs, old monuments; we of 

 Amerloa rejoice that this, a new, unfinished 



world, with young yet colossal vegetable growths, - 

 strange yet beautiful animal forms, modern yet ' 

 matchless peoples, adolescent yet full-fruit-bear- * 

 iug institutions, unprecedented yet unimaginable 

 destinies ! 



" For still the new transcends the old. 

 In deeds and wonders manifold." 



CocoANUT Palm {Cocos mici/era, Lin.) is very 

 widely distributed between the tropics, generally 

 affecting the neighborhood of the sea, and espe- 

 cially abundant in India and the Pacific Islands, 

 where its tall and cylindrical trunk, from 60 to 

 100 feet in height, crowned with many gracefully 

 waving feather-like leaves, fringes every islet and 

 forms one of the most striking beauties of the 

 scenery. 



Almost every part of the tree, as in a few 

 others of the palm tribe, is applied to important 

 uses. The wood, imported into Europe under ; 

 the name of porcupine wood, is employed for 

 building purposes, the construction of chairs and 

 fancy articles. From the leaves, besides their 

 general use as a thatch and in hut-making, ; 

 baskets and screens are made, while those young 

 and tender are cooked and eaten. Of the well ^ 

 known nutritious fruit, the cocoanut, several , 

 bunches of a dozen or more are borne by each , 

 tree. From the shell of the mature nut, various 

 useful or ornamental vessels, spoons, &c., are cut 

 and carved, and from the fibrous rind or husk , 

 which envelopes it is prepared the "coir" of , 

 commerce, so extensively used in the manufac- , 

 ture of mats, carpets, brushes, cables, bags, <fec. . 

 The fibre is prepared from the husk by steeping ^ 

 and beating. 



From the kernel, boiled and bruised or grated, ; 

 is obtained the cocoanut oil largely employed in ■, 

 the manufacture of excellent candles, and also ; 

 of soap. Ofthisoil, in 1870, 197,788 cwts. were . 

 imported. — Pharmaceutical Journal. 



QUERIES, ■ 



Classification of the Minute Fungi.— Prof. • 

 Bessey, Ames, Iowa, says : " I must enter a pro- ' 

 test against friend StaufTer's article, 'Ring 

 Forming Fungus,' in September Gardener't 

 Monthly. Had the writer thereof consulted Dr. ^ 

 Farlow, Dr. Peck, or any one else versed in -■ 

 mycology, he would not have inflicted upon u«. - 

 those hard names, while he was guessing for one 

 to fit his wonder. He probably had, judging ^ 

 from his description, one of those curious organ- ' 



