-356 Select Plants for Industrial Culture 



64 feet at 11 feet from it; the branches of this individual tree are as 

 thick as the stems of large elms. The elevation of Calveras is about 

 4,760 feet above sea-level. A stump 33 feet in diameter is known at 

 Yosemite. According to Dr. Gibbons this giant of the forest has a far 

 wider range, than was formerly supposed, Mr. John Muir having shown, 

 that it stretches over nearly 200 miles at an altitude of 5,000 to 8,000 

 feet. From the Calveras to the King-River it occurs in small and 

 isolated groves, but from the latter point south to Deer-Creek, a 

 distance of about 70 miles, there are almost unbroken forests of this 

 noble tree. Growth of the tree about 2 feet avear under ordinary 

 culture, much more in damp forest-glens, professor Schuebeler 

 found it to endure the climate of Norway northward to lat. 61 15'. 

 Both Sequoias produce shoots from the root after the stem is cut 

 away. The genus Sequoia can be reduced to Athrotaxis, as shown 

 by Bentham and J. Hooker. 



Sesanrtirn Indicum, 



The Gingili. Southern Asia, extending eastward to Japan, origi- 

 nating according to A. de Candolle in the Sunda-Islands. This 

 annual herb is cultivated as far as 42 north latitude in Japan. The 

 oil, fresh expressed from the seeds, is one of the best for table-use 

 and free from any unpleasant taste; it congeals far less readily than 

 olive-oil. There are varieties of this plant with white, red and black 

 seeds; the latter is the earliest and richest, but gives a darker oil. 

 Yield 45 to 50 per cent. oil. Nearly a million acres are under culti- 

 vation with this plant in the Madras-Presidency. The export of the 

 oil from Bangkok in 1870 was valued, according' to Simmonds, at 

 183,000; the market value is from 25s. to 35s. per cwt. The plant 

 still succeeds at Malta and at Gaza, and is much grown in Turkey. 

 Parched and pounded, the seeds make a rich soup. In Greece the 

 seeds are often sprinkled over cakes. One of the advantages of the 

 culture of this plant consists in its quick return of produce. The 

 soot of the oil is used for China-ink. 



Sesbania aculeata, Persoon. 



The Danchi. Intra-tropical and sub-tropical Asia, Africa and 

 Australia. This tall annual plant has proved adapted for desert- 

 regions. It yields a tough fibre for ropes, nets and cordage, valued at 

 from 30 to 40 per ton. Several congeneric plants can be equally 

 well utilized. 



Sesbania JEgyptiaca, Persoon. 



Africa, Southern Asia, Northern and Central Australia, ranging to 

 33 north in Afghanistan and to 33 south on the Darling-River, 

 ascending to 4,000 feet in the Himalayas. The foliage of this tall 

 perennial herb and of the allied annual S. brachycarpa (F. v. M.) 

 serves as fodder, which cattle are ravenously fond of. According to 

 Mr. T. Gulliver, the green pods, as well as the seeds, are nutritious, 

 wholesome and of pleasant taste. 



