TREES 



TREES 



1841 



must often have quick-growing trees which soon pro- 

 duce fuel, but which have little, if any, value for other 

 purposes. In the eastern part of the Plains the black 

 willow, almond willow, common cottonwood, silver 

 maple, and box elder are useful trees for this purpose. 

 We should not condemn the use of these easily grown 

 soft-wooded trees. A forest is a crop, and there is no 

 reason why a farmer may not plant a more quickly 

 growing crop if he wishes, but he should at the same 

 time plant the more enduring kinds given in the preced- 

 ing lists. On the central Plains the quickly-grown trees 

 may include the same willows and cottonwood and also 

 the box elder. The silver maple will not do well in the 

 greater part of this central region. On the western 

 Plains the list is essentially the same as for the central 

 portion: namely, the willows, cottonwood, and the box 

 elder, to which may be added, here and there, one or 

 more of the western species of cottonwood. 



Now for the horticultural point of view. About the 

 country homes the first trees are usually cottonwood, 

 silver maple and box elder, followed later by green ash 

 and white elm. Very commonly the red cedar is planted 

 with the first mentioned species, and often Scotch and 

 Austrian pines are soon added. It must be remembered 

 that the settler's house on the Plains stands in the 

 open instead of being hemmed in by forest trees, as in 

 the eastern portions of the American continent. The 

 settler's problem is to surround his bouse with trees, 

 not to clear the trees away. In towns and cities the 

 cottonwood, silver maple and box elder are generally 

 the pioneer trees, since they produce a shade sooner 

 than any others, and later these are gradually replaced 

 by green ash and white elm. Hackberry, black walnut 

 and buttonwood are occasionally planted with good 

 success. The species which are most largely used for 

 wind-breaks for orchards and other plantations are com- 

 mon cottonwood, willow (a variety of Salix alba), sil- 

 ver maple and box elder. The first mentioned, because 

 of its easy propagation, rapid growth and extreme har- 

 diness, is the favorite tree for this purpose. Where 

 landscape gardening is attempted, the Scotch and 



2558. A tree group dominated by a leaning; oak, which 

 is a remnant of the forest. 



Austrian pines, Norway spruce and red cedar are gen- 

 erally used, and to these are often added one or more 

 species of the Rocky Mountain spruces. The most 

 generally used deciduous tree for this purpose is the 



white elm (which here attains to a singular beauty of 

 form and foliage), to which are occasionally added bur 

 oak, black walnut and Russian olive (Elaaagnus), and 

 in proper situations, the white willow. The coniferous 

 trees of greatest value 

 for ornamental purposes 

 on the Plains are the 

 Austrian pine, Scotch 

 pine and red cedar. With 

 proper care these may 

 be grown on all parts 

 of the Plains where 

 water enough to main- 

 tain life may be ob- 

 tained. On the extreme 

 eastern border the Nor- 

 way spruce and even the 

 balsam fir have proved 

 valuable. Among decid- 

 uous trees the white elm 

 holds first place, fol- 

 lowed by the hackberry 

 (which is not as much 

 planted as it deserves) 

 and the green ash. 



C. E. Bessey. 



Trees Grown for Shade 

 and Ornament in Cali- 

 fornia. — The mild and 

 equable climate of Cali- 

 fornia allows a wide 

 range of available spe- 

 cies from which to se- 

 lect trees for shade, or- 

 nament and shelter. On 

 account of the long rainy 

 season, the low humid- 

 ity of the atmosphere, 

 and the relatively high 

 mean, and freedom from 

 low winter minima in 

 temperatures, the trees 

 which thrive best in mid- 

 dle California are those 

 indigenous to the arid and semi-arid warm-temperate 

 regions of the globe, e. g., southern Australia, the Medi- 

 terranean region, South Africa, northern Mexico and 

 Chile. Many trees of the temperate humid regions also 

 thrive in this state, particularly in the relatively humid 

 climate of the coast, and are offered by our nurserymen. 

 Several of the species mentioned in this list are not 

 described in this Cyclopedia, as they did not appear to 

 be in the general trade when the pages were written. 



I. The Species Most Extensively Planted. — The 

 three following are the trees most frequently met with 

 as shade and ornamental trees in middle California: 



1. Eucalyptus Globulus. 



2. < 'upressus macrocarpa. 



3. Pinus radiata. 



The relative abundance of the succeeding species is 

 only approximately indicated by their sequence. 



4. Robinia Pseudacacia, probably more widely distributed 



and occurring in more remote and out-of-the-way 

 places than any other species (except, perhaps, 

 Eucalyptus Globulus). The seeds may have been 

 brought across the Plains by the earliest settlers at 

 the mines. 



5. Melia Azedarach.var. umbraculiformis. 



6. Phoenix Canadensis. 



7. Schinus Molle. 



8. Acacia melanoxylon. 



9. Acacia mollissima. 



10. Magnolia grandiflora. 



11. Populus deltoides, var. Carolinensis. 



12. Washingtonia robusta. 



13. Cordyline austral is and other species. 



14. Araucaria Bidwillii, 



15. Araucaria excelsa. 



16. Grevillea robusta. 



17. .Tuglans California and spp. 



18. Ulmus raeemosn and spp. 



19. Acer Negundo and var. Californicum. 



20. Salix Babylonica. 



2559. Two types of conifers - 

 pine and spruces. 



