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 has a 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 



