1 86 



THE FORESTER. 



August, 



ren foot-hills their arid, unsightly ap- 

 pearance brought out in sharp contrast 

 by the plantations of trees and shrubs 

 around the Fremont gate a scene fairly 

 representative of hundreds of thousands 

 of acres scattered through California and 

 the dryer portions of this southwestern 

 region. These hills are also representa- 

 tive of the greater portion of over three 

 thousand acres comprising Griffith's 

 Park, a grand heritage of our people, 

 but entailing also its responsibility. 



Los Angeles can never permit these 

 barren spots to remain almost alongside 

 our beautiful homes. We must cover 

 them with trees and shrubs, guided in 

 our selection by the experience of other 

 countries. Should this be accomplished 

 the lesson will be of incalculable benefit 

 to al! the Western country, and we may 

 confidently hope that the United States 

 Government will guide and assist us in 

 this work. We must appreciate the good 

 work done by Mr. Ellwood Cooper, Mr. 

 Abbot Kinney and other pioneers in 

 forest work. 



In approaching the selection of trees 

 suitable for foot-hill planting, I think we 

 must somewhat resolutely refuse to con- 

 sider our Eastern forest trees or the trees 

 of other, and of cooler, portions of Cali- 

 fornia. Selection has often been made 

 on this basis. After having planted un- 

 suitable trees, we try artificial watering 

 and other plans of cultivation to keep 

 them alive, in direct opposition to 

 Nature's plan, so ably discussed by 

 Darwin the survival of the fittest. Let 

 us seek trees from semi-arid regions, in- 

 ured by centuries of long, dry summers, 

 and a limited rainfall. As best answer- 

 ing these conditions, I think Australia 

 offers the most inviting region for such re- 

 search, more especially since that coun- 

 try has been quite active in forest work. 



The name of the late Baron Ferd Von 

 Mueller has for over forty years been as- 

 sociated with forest planting in all parts 

 of the world, describing and introducing 

 the varied and the beautiful Australian 

 flora. His work on "Select Extra- 

 Tropical Plants for Industrial Culture 

 or Naturalization" has been translated 



into all languages. The first fragmentary 

 publications of this work were at one 

 time printed here in California by Mr. 

 Ell wood Cooper, formerly President of 

 the State Board of Horticulture. Prof. 

 Charles Naudin, a great leader in scien- 

 tific cultivation, has adopted this work 

 in a somewhat altered and enlarged 

 French form, more especially for the use 

 of countries on the Mediterranean Sea, 

 where, in parts, there exists a climate 

 very similar to our own in California. 



The following quotation from this 

 work applies directly, in my opinion, to 

 the question of forestry in California : 



"Furthermore, as methodic forestry 

 is as yet limited everywhere to indige- 

 nous kinds of trees, except in India, and 

 at the Mediterranean Sea, where Euca- 

 lyptus, much through the initiating early 

 efforts of the writer, became reared on a 

 forestal scale, it may be presumed that 

 the present pages will also aid in vastly 

 amplifying forest operations by transfers 

 of peculiarly superior kinds of sylvan 

 trees from hemisphere to hemisphere in 

 a truly cosmopolitan spirit, so far as this 

 can be carried out within climatic scope; 

 renewal and even originating of forests 

 having become so needful in many re- 

 gions of the world." 



The continent of Australia contains 

 some three million square miles, a large 

 portion having a dry and wet season, 

 and a comparatively light rainfall. It 

 would be an attractive task to describe 

 the forest trees of Australia, the great 

 family of Myrtacae, including the Euca- 

 lyptus, Angophoras, Metrosideros, Me- 

 lalenucas, etc , and the Leguminosce, 

 numerically the largest of these great 

 Australian families, containing over three 

 hundred species of Acacias alone but 

 the limits of this address will not per- 

 mit. Some description of these trees 

 and shrubs, successfully introduced into 

 France, can be found in a work in the 

 Public Library of Los Angeles, by P. 

 Mouillefert, Professor of Forestry at the 

 National School of Agriculture at Grig- 

 non, entitled "Trees and Shrubs for 

 Forestry, Useful or Ornamental Pur- 

 poses," giving the description and uses 



