626 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



locust. A ruggecl, 

 homely tree, but a 

 wonderful honey- 

 plant. The creamy- 

 white blossoms open 

 in April, and fill the 

 air with their sweet 

 perfume, inviting the 

 bees to come and 

 feast. The honey is 

 water-Avhite, heavj' 

 in body, mild-flavor- 

 ed, slow to granulate. 

 The yield is often 

 heavy, depending 

 somewhat on weath- 

 er conditions. I have 

 known a colony on 

 the scales to store 15 

 pounds in a day from 

 locust alone. The lo- 

 cust occurs in the 

 central and south- 

 ern states; and the 



wood, on account of its lasting quality, is 

 valuable for posts. It is also a good soil- 



Liriodendron tuUpiicra, I'n/ilnr. Photu by J. M. Biiclianan. 



renovator, as it is a member of tlie legume 

 family. 

 Franklin, Tenn. 



THE EUCALYPTUS OF CALIFORNIA 



BY LESLIE BURR. 



The tourist on his an-ival in California 

 probably obtains more misinformation on 

 the subject of eucalyptus than on any other. 

 The object of this article is to set forth the 

 general characteristics and habits of the 

 eucalyptus. 



The tree is a hard-wood evergTeen. It 

 belongs to the order Myrtaceae, and is a 

 native of Australia. The tree was discover- 

 ed in 1788 and was introduced into Cali- 

 fornia in 1856, the first tree being planted 

 near Santa Barbara. The name " euca- 

 lyptus" was suggested by the lid or cap-like 

 covering that covers the immature blossom, 

 the word being from the Greek, and mean- 

 ing " well hidden." There are about 150 

 species, more or less, of the eucalyptus, the 

 number not being definitely settled. 



The tree that predominates in Califor- 

 nia is the Eucalyptus globulus, connnonly 

 called " blue gum." In years past a pos- 

 sible ninety per cent of all gum-trees plant- 

 ed were Eucalyptus globulus. This tree has 

 the distinction of being the fastest-growing 

 tree in the world. This does not mean that 

 blue gum will always grow more rapidly 

 than any other gum-trees, for in many lo- 

 calities other species have outgrown it in 

 particular in.stances; but, taken as a whole. 



it is the fastest-growing tree. In 25 years 

 it attains the size of that of an oak-tree 

 whose rings show it to be 200 or 300 years 

 of age. The wood is the equal of oak, and 

 can probably be used for a greater vanety 

 of purposes. It has another added value in 

 that, when it is cut down, the tree sprouts 

 freely, sending shoots 75 to 100 feet high 

 in from six to eight years. 



All the species of eucalyptus are propa- 

 gated from the seed only. The seeds are 

 very small, the average size being about 

 .04 of an inch. The number of seed pro- 

 duced by a tree is enormous; but, however, 

 a very small percentage of the seeds are 

 fertile, and for this reason there is a wide- 

 spread opinion that seeds from trees grow- 

 ing in California will not germinate. 



The blue gum and a number of other 

 species are bark-shedders — tliat is, they con- 

 tinually shed their bark. The trees are also 

 classed somewhat by reason of the nature 

 of the bai'k, as iron-bark giims, stringy-bark 

 gums, and white gums. 



The localities where ei;calyptus will grow 

 Iiere in the United States are limited. They 

 do best where the summer temperature 

 ranges from 80 to 100 degrees; and wliere 

 in winter the tem])erature seldom goes be- 



