40 WITH THE FLOWERS AND TREES 



china, and by people of utilitarian bent, they may 

 be turned to practical account and strung into neck- 

 laces, portiere chains and so on. Some kinds are an 

 inch or an inch and a half in diameter, and lovers 

 of the Lady Nicotine have been known to favor 

 such for pipe bowls. 



The best all-round eucalypt for California, and 

 the one most frequently met with, is the blue gum 

 (E. globulus), whose wood, hard as hickory, is use- 

 ful not only for fuel, but for making a variety of 

 things from hoe handles to wharf piling. It is a 

 kingly tree in its proportions, attaining 1 in its native 

 Australia a height of 300 feet ; and in its nature it is 

 no less large tolerant to an unusual extent of ad- 

 verse conditions. The ability to withstand a con- 

 siderable degree of frost as well as heat, and to 

 thrive alike in moist soil and arid, is largely re- 

 sponsible for its extensive culture. Possibly 150 

 feet is the high mark of the blue gum's growth so 

 far in California. Country roads lined on both 

 sides for thousands of feet with such colossi, drip- 

 ping dappled shadows and happy bird notes, and 

 sprinkling upon the traveler benedictions of 

 fragrance, are among the unforgettable pleasures 

 of a California outing. Blue gum saplings, as well 

 as the young sprouts of old trees, are remarkable 

 for their powdery-surfaced, bluish leaves oval in 



