IN FLORIDA 59 
before hard winds, hence it stands the storms fairly well. It is 
generally healthy and free from insect pests, though of late it is 
beginning to be troubled by a boring beetle; and it is easily propa- 
gated from seed, which it produces in great abundance. Yet to 
me and many others it does not seem to be a fit tree for plant- 
ing along our highways: until it reaches a considerable age the 
lower limbs are the longest and must be cut away in order to 
allow of free passage along the road. It does not cast much 
shade on account of the tenuity of its foliage. It produces a hard 
seed-vessel something like a prickly cone and it is claimed that 
these are injurious to automobile tires. Certainly they are not 
pleasant to the feet of barefoot children and they sometimes 
literally cover the highway. : 
But it is the appearance, the tone, the general color of the tree 
that, it seems to me, is its greatest drawback. It hasa sad, dull, 
gloomy tint that is especially depressing, that is suggestive of 
cemeteries, of the end of life, and of the dark and silent tomb. 
This is a land of clear skies, of illimitable light and sunshine, a 
land of glorious color, and it seems to me that such a depressing 
tree is entirely out of place in it. 
There are a number of trees that bid fair to be useful for road 
and street planting and ought at least to be tried out; one of these 
is the mango, Mangifera indica. It has a clean, straight stem, 
a wide spreading, compact-and shapely top. Its long, thick, 
glossy leaves are exceedingly beautiful, especially when they 
first develop, as at that time they have a marvellous range of 
tints varying from pale ashy pink to reddish brown and rich 
wine color. So far it is generally healthy and free from insect 
attacks; its fruit is valuable and it stands up against winds well. 
Several stems often come from each seed and all or only one may 
be left to grow. 
Albizzia lebbek, Woman’s Tongue, is a tree much used for road 
planting in the Old World. I have a splendid specimen in my 
grounds about nine years planted that has a head more than fifty 
feet across and forty in height with a trunk diameter in excess 
of two feet. It has attractive pinnate leaves and heads of 
silvery and green stamens all summer and it appears to stand 
well against high wind. Its leaves are retained throughout the 
