1883.1 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



245 



I commend the subject to the most careful con- 

 sideration of the press and the farmers of New 



England. 



•-• • 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



The Eccalyptus in Florida. — The Blue Gum 

 seems at home in Florida. Trees at Leesburg are 

 20 feet high, with trunks 18 inches round, four 

 years from the seed. Pity such a fast growing 

 tree should give such worthless timber. 



Loc.\TiON AND Quality in Timber. — We noted 

 recently that location had much to do with quality 

 in the same species of timber tree. A correspon- 

 dent of the London Garden writes of an Enghsh- 

 grown American black walnut: "You will note 

 that the wood has obtained from our English soil 

 the very character American wood is so deficient 

 in, viz., hardness and weight, approaching in this 

 respect the character of Italian walnut, or what is 

 represented by the words good quality. I am now 

 making from this tree a sideboard which will, I 

 think, be a beautiful specimen of work." 



Fuel in China. — A correspondent of the Gar- 

 deners' Chronicle writing from the West River, in 

 China, says that there are no natural woods left, ex- 

 cept far up in the country, from whence enormous 

 logs of " China Fir" are floated down. For fuel 

 Pinus sinensis is extensively planted, but these are 

 cut down when mere saplings. There is very little 

 grass on the hills, but ferns — Gleichenia dichoto- 

 ma — abound and cover the ground in every direc- 

 tion. The fern is cut and dried and used exten- 

 sively for fuel, even the limestone in the limekilns, 

 which are numerous, is burnt with this fuel only. 



A Large Waticr-Pitch Tree. — The Lancaster 

 Farmer says: 



"A friend has handed us a description of a mam-, 

 moth water-pitch tree, which stands in front of the 

 dwelling of Mr. Jacob Sener, near this city, which 

 may be designated as the mammoth of the county. 

 It is one hundred and ten years old, about one 

 hundred and fifty feet high, and measures twenty- 

 three-feet around the trunk. One of the lower limbs 

 measures sixty-one feet in length, and five and a 

 half feet in circumference. This tree was planted 

 by Mr. Baer more than a century ago. He had 

 been out riding on horseback, and used a twig as 

 a riding whip; when he returned home he stuck it 

 in the ground, and the present tree is the product. 

 It looks as though it might live another century, 

 and is a striking illustration of what great results 

 may grow from apparent trifles." 



This is copied in order to inquire. What is a 

 water-pitch tree ? especially as it is desirable to 



place the paragraph among the enormous number 

 relating to famous specimens which have been 

 raised to magnificent trees after having been used 

 as "riding whips." 



Ti.MBER Trees of England.— England has only 

 eight indigenous timber trees — oak, yew, Scotch 

 pine, ash, wych elm, beech, linden and sycamore 

 — so says the Gardeners Chronicle. The syca- 

 more is probably the "sycamore maple," and not 

 the buttonwood or plane as it would be under- 

 ; stood in America. 



Value of Locations in Ti.mber Planting. — 

 It has been stated in an English paper that black 

 walnut timber grown in the United States is worth 

 four shillings ($i), and Canadian black walnut 

 $1.25 per foot (cubic?) in Bristol, England, where 

 there is a large demand for it. It is doubtful 

 whether this will hold good of walnut timber grown 

 in some portions of the Union. In the Far West, 

 where trees suffer severely in winter and their vital 

 powers are much strained, it is likely timber may 

 not be as sound as in locations where there are no 

 set-backs from droughts, or extreme cold winds or 

 temperature; for it is well known that what affects 

 the health of a tree affects the durable quality of 

 the timber also. The matter is, however, one re- 

 quiring the careful attention of timber planters, 

 for there is no doubt that though " walnut from the 

 States," as given in this quotation, is a very indef- 

 inite statement, there is a great deal of judgment 

 required in selecting a good location with the view 

 to the most perfect success. 



Perfume from Acacia. — As .\cacia Farnesi- 

 ana thrives very well in the Gulf States, the follow- 

 ing floating newspaper paragraph may have some 

 value to our readers there : "Important in refer- 

 ence to their value in rural economy are the Aca- 

 cia Farnesiana, which produce the fragrant flowers 

 so much used in perfumery, and the A. homo- 

 malla, the wood of which is highly prized and 

 dearly paid for by manufacturers of fans. In every 

 Moorish garden in North Africa there can be seen 

 a few trees of the A. Farnesiana, of which the 

 flowers are gathered by women and children for 

 family use; whilst in France and Italy it furnishes 

 a not unimportant article of commerce. In the 

 district of Cannes alone 36,000 pounds of flowers 

 are yearly produced, for which the perfumers pay 

 from 50 to 75 cents per pound, which would amount 

 to about $45,000. One tree furnishes, according 

 to age, from one to five or more pounds ; and one 

 acre planted with about eight hundred trees would 

 produce in a few years a notable increase of in- 



