284 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



June 



to the statement, which seems to be 

 pretty universally accepted now, that 

 the prevention of malaria by Eucalpytus 

 planting is a fallacy. 



The success they have had with plant- 

 ing in this vicinity cannot be said to 

 have been brought about entirely under 

 the benign influences of nature, for she 

 has interposed some rather serious ob- 

 stacles. The first great difficulty was to 

 find a good time for planting, because in 

 the autumn, the best season for putting 

 in the trees, the rainfall is very poor. 



The typhoons which sweep over that 

 coast of Asia did considerable damage, 

 although many of the trees which were 

 blown down were straightened and 

 braced up, and after a period of nurs- 

 ing were restored to their former 

 strength. Much trouble was caused 

 at different times by birds eating the 

 seeds of the in place and broadcast 



sowing. 



Many of the Tristania conferta and 

 Japanese Cedar fell victims to the white 

 ant, and the Pines and Banyans suffered 

 greatly from a caterpillar pest which 

 appeared in 1893,1894, and 1895. In the 

 case of the Caterpillars (Eutrichapunc- 

 tata), however, many of the trees, even 

 after losing their foliage, survived 

 and regained their vigor. No way was 

 found of getting rid of these caterpillars 

 except the laborious method of hand- 

 picking, which anywhere but in an ex- 

 ceedingly low wage country like China 

 would be utterly impracticable. It has 



been recorded as a rather peculiar fact 

 that the times when the caterpillars 

 were most plentiful were also the worst 

 years of the bubonic plague. 



Mahogany was tried in the planta- 

 tions, and although for a time it grew 

 well, it was later practically ruined by 

 borers. Fire, the enemy at large of the 

 forester, has not failed to visit the work 

 of the Department there. On the as- 

 pects exposed to the winds and the 

 terrific heat of the sun, everything in 

 the dry season is in a thoroughly com- 

 bustible condition, and the tree planters, 

 in order to protect their work, have 

 been obliged to clear several miles of 

 fire barriers, some ten and some fifteen 

 feet in width. 



At the present time the Forest De- 

 partment at Hongkong is doing but 

 little broadcast and in place planting, 

 because the area for this has practically- 

 been exhausted. They are, however, 

 still doing a good deal of work along 

 the roads and streets. From now on 

 their principal task will be to protect 

 and care for the plantations already 

 under way. Experiments with new- 

 species will also be pushed vigorously. 



The problems confronting these for- 

 esters have been many and vexatious. 

 Theirs has truly been in all respects an 

 " up-hill ' : work, and that they have 

 transformed so much of that treeless 

 slope into a veritable hanging garden is 

 a testimonial to their energy and per- 

 sistence. 



NOTE The foregoing description calls attention to the great need of such planting in the 

 United States. No doubt every reader of this article knows of spots practically barren of tree 

 growth near our leading cities that might be made beautiful and healthful with even less 

 energy and persistence than has been required in the work at Hongkong. It is an example 

 well worthy of emulation by us. [EDITOR.] 



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