A HANDBOOK FOR EUCALYPTUS PLANTERS. 37 



On irrigated land trees are not compelled to root deeply for moisture, 

 hence they maintain a very shallow root system. If a Eucalyptus 

 windbreak surrounding irrigated land is not irrigated, its roots will 

 extend to adjoining orchards and appropriate moisture from them to 

 supply its own needs. The area drawn upon depends upon the size of 

 the windbreak, but usually it is not greater than 50 feet each way. 



To prevent this, wide root extension must be limited and the sheltering 

 trees forced to root into deeper soil layers. This can be accomplished 

 without injury to the shelter belts, by running a parallel trench 6 to 10 

 feet from them. The trench should be dug 3 or 4 feet deep, cutting off 

 the surface roots of the gum trees, then refilled to prevent the roots from 

 dipping beneath it to seek the orchard. The roots will then spread out 

 in the loosened soil of the trench, which should be reopened about every 

 second year to restrain their extension beyond it, The result is to compel 

 deep rooting, which is attested in numerous orchards by the heavy pro- 

 duction of citrus trees in rows adjacent to the windbreak. 



Commercial Plantations. With the exception of a few small, scattered 

 groves of black locust, planting for timber production in California has 

 been confined to the eucalypts and chiefly to the blue gum. This species 

 has been grown extensively in Southern California for fuel, and except 

 for small amounts of oak, juniper, mesquite and pine has supplied the 

 section for the past thirty years. 



The returns on investments in Eucalyptus plantations have been 

 generous, in many cases exceeding those received from equal areas under 

 cultivation in orchards or agricultural crops. Groves set out in the 

 fertile Los Angeles valley have yielded from 50 to 80 cords per acre 

 at every cutting. Yields of 75 cords per acre every seven or eight years 

 have been frequent. 



At the present time there are several thousand acres in California 

 planted to Eucalyptus. The following is a partial list of the larger fuel- 

 wood groves: 



Owner. Location. Acreage. 



Cooper Ellwood 200 



Bennett Del Mar 200 



Nadeau Florence 115 



Meecham Petaluma 100 



Varrick Orange 90 



Hazard Los Angeles 90 



Thaxter . Florence 80 



Nichol Santa Fe Springs 80 



Smith Berkeley 80 



Bixby Long Beach 80 



Rosencrans Gardena 80 



Gunn Santa Fe Springs' 50 



Hough Huntington Park 40 



Sexton Compton 40 



Kellam Compton 40 



