82 JOURNAL OF THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM [vol. iv 



hedges are indispensable and the interests of these farmers are of greater 

 value to the country than those of the Apple-grower who would much 

 like| to have all the thorn hedges destroyed. In Tasmania these European 

 Thorns also flourish and at Hobart I noted nice trees of the black fruited 

 C. Douglasii Lindl. of western North America and the Washington Thorn 

 (C. phaenopyrum Med.) with its cheery scarlet fruit. The common 

 European Alder (Alnus glutinosa Gaertn.) has been largely planted in 

 New Zealand and in wet places does well. There seems to be a particular 

 reason for planting this tree and if timber is the object it would be better 

 to plant Alnus japonica S. & Z. which grows rapidly to a large size. On 

 the pumice and volcanic ash of the Rotorua region and elsewhere in New 

 Zealand A . fyna S. & Z. ought to be a useful tree since it is at home under 

 such conditions in Japan. 



A few years ago Catalpa speciosa Engelm. was boomed for forest planting. 

 In New Zealand alone millions of these trees were planted but few survive 

 and none show any promise of growing into timber producing size. In 

 eastern Australia the experiment was also tried in places on quite a large 

 scale, but the results proved equally barren and disappointing. In these 

 same countries the Black Locust (Robinia Pseudoacacia L.) has also been 

 planted on a considerable scale but it grows slowly and does not promise 

 to be of economic value. But a South American tree, Schinus Molle L. 

 (the Pepper Tree of California) has proved of much value both in South 

 Africa and Australia. In the dry interior regions of both lands it is a 

 verlitable Godsend as a source of shade. At Kalgoorlie on the gold- 

 fields of Western Australia it is almost the only tree that can be grown 

 there. For towns and homesteads situated in arid places its planting 

 cannot be too strongly encouraged; but it should be more or less restricted 

 to such regions and not planted promiscuously over the whole country as 

 is now done. At Adelaide grow the largest Pepper-trees I have seen and 

 in the relatively dry climate little can be urged against its presence but 

 in wetter climates it ought not to be grown. Its fruit has a deleterious 

 effect on chickens and some contend that its mere presence militates against 



the health of poultry. 



The London Plane (Platanus acerifolia Willd.) has of course been carried 

 to the southern hemisphere for street and avenue planting. Where 

 summer rains prevail it is often a success, in some places notably so, in 

 others it fails. Where winter is the season of rains it cannot be recommend- 

 ed. The finest avenues and groves of this tree I saw in Australia are 

 in Adelaide and Ballarat. They are very fine in Melbourne also. In these 

 places the tree grows rapidly, is free of disease, gives an abundant of 

 much needed shade and can be highly recommended for park planting 

 especially. In certain places in the South Island, New Zealand, the London 

 Plane does moderately well but it is not so happy as in Victoria and South 

 Australia. In Western Australia, Queensland and much of New South 

 Wales it is worthless or virtually so. As a street tree in Pretoria, in the 



