i6 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[January, 



pine, the Larch, and the Norway spruce make ei- 

 ceDent rimber in Scotland. They are trees which 

 love a comparatively moist atmosphere and cool 

 climate ; they have vigorous health, and with vig- 

 orous health they have sound durable timber. 

 These trees grow in the dryer regions of the world 

 but are not long lived ; and with this extra strain 

 on the vital |)owers an inferior quality of timber 

 follows. This is the reason why the enthusiasm for 

 Larch on the western plains has died out. !t was 

 an enthuaasm based on Scotch experiences. 

 What we want for successful American fores- 

 try is an adaptation of trees to climate. This 

 can only be determined by actual experi- 

 ment. In many cases native trees will be 

 &r better than any imported species. On the 

 other hand there are no doubt a number of exotie 

 species that would on trial prove at least equal to 

 indigenous kinds. There mtist be in many gar- 

 dens bv this time large specimens of many kinds 

 of foreign trees, and whenever these have to be cut 

 down we should be glad of notes of their growth 

 or probable qualities. 



The Docglas Sprvce. — This from the moist 

 climate of Northern California. Oregon, and Wash- 

 ton territory, is just suited to the very similiar cli- 

 mate of England and other countries bordering 

 the eastern side of the Gulf Stream. It is said to 

 be bv all odds much the best of all their foreign 

 trees. In the eastern portion ot the L'nited States 

 it wiU scarcely live, and is of no value for forestry 

 purposes. The variety that comes from the Rocky 

 Mountains is perfectly hardy, but has not the lofty, 

 rapid growing character of its Pacific coast 

 brother ; and though an admirable ornament for 

 an Eastern garden, is believed to be of no value 

 for forestry purposes where other much more 

 ra|Hd growing trees take its place. The Hemlock 

 is the great spruce lumber tree of the Eastern .At- 

 lantic, and posrlbly no tree can well take its place. 

 On the other hand the Hemlock has been found of 

 no value for forestry purposes anywhere in the old 

 vorid that we know of. 



FoRESTRT IS CHrs"-\^. — .\ correspondent of the 

 London Gardener's Chronicle %z.s%: "I noticed that 

 nearly every garden contained a few specimens of 

 the Chusan Palm, Chamsrops Forttmei, which 

 the natives cultivate for the purpose of supplying 

 themselves with fibre obtained from the sheaths of 

 the leaves, to fabricate waterproof capes. Paul- 

 ownia imperialis, with its very large leaves, was a 

 conspicuous object in one locality, although it did 

 not attain to more than about 1 5 feet in height. 



With the exception of some healthy young planta- 

 tions of Cunninghamia sinensis, the Conifer which 

 supplies China Fir for building purposes, I noticed 

 scarcely any tree planting operations. This is 

 different to the case in the West River districts, 

 where the people devote considerable care to the 

 rearing of Pinus sinensis. The neglect of tree 

 planting in one place, and the fostering of it in 

 the other, is probably accounted for by the facil- 

 ities of getting the wood to market, whicJi is 

 afforded by the splendid West River in the latter 

 case, while in the former there is no river nearer 

 than S or 9 miles to the nearest part of the moun- 

 tains." 



The Carob Tree. — This singular tree has been 

 successfully introduced and fruited in Califom'a, 

 and as it promises to be one of the most useful 

 trees in the drjer and temperate regions of our 

 country-, the following full account from the Gar- 

 dener's CftronicU will have an interest for our 

 forestry readers. The timber is as valuable as the 

 beans : 



"The sacchsirine pods of the Ceratonia siliqua 

 have become an article of considerable import- 

 ance ais a food for domestic cattle, and the export 

 is now large from many of the Mediterranean 

 countries. From Candia or Crete the shipments 

 have been said to reach I So, 000 tons annually, 

 from Cyprus 10.000 tons are exported, amd from 

 the district of Tarragona in Spain as much. 



" In several of the countries where the tree is 

 largely grown, horses and stable cattle are almost 

 exclusively fed upon the pods. About six pounds 

 a day are given of the crushed pods, raw or boiled, 

 with or without chaff. The meat of sheep and 

 pigs is also greatly improved in flavor by this pod, 

 the fattening properties being twice that of oil- 

 cake ; hence Carob beans form a chief ingredient 

 in most of the artificially prepared cattle foods. 

 They contain about 66 per cent, of sugar and 

 gum. The tree is grown in Italy, Portugal, and 

 Spain, the south of France, and most of the 

 islands of the Mediterranean. It has been also 

 carried to South .America and India. The pro- 

 duce is annually increasing in Cyprus. The tree 

 grows readily in most soils, and not requiring 

 much moisture or care, its cultivation gives little 

 trouble ; however, although the tree grows and 

 thrives without much moisture, the yield of fruit 

 is affected during dry seasons, the quantity being 

 less, and the quality inferior. 



'■ In Crete the trees in the eastern part of the 

 island produce a much finer pod than elsewhere, 

 which realize is. a cwt. more than those in the 

 centre of the island. The produce always finds 

 a ready market at Constantinople and the ports of 

 the Black Sea. These pods, in some of the coun- 

 tries where it is abundant, are a great resource to 

 the poorer c' ;^ "3 eat them in large quanti- 

 ties, partici :. Contairing a gocil pro- 

 portion of ;__ •- L.icy are very nourishing and 



