CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



high growth, and consequent large area over which its shelter will 

 be felt. It is deficient in undergrowth, and if a close screen is de- 

 sired, the planting of eucalyptus and Monterey cypress (Cupressus 

 macrocarpa) is a common practice. The latter also attains good 

 height, but its broad, thick base fills the gaps between the bare stems 

 of the gum trees. Another tree which has often been planted with 

 the blue gum, to supply a thick, low growth, is the pepper tree 

 (Schinus molle). It is also grown in rows by itself. It makes a 

 dense head, grows rapidly, and flourishes without much care. Trees 

 planted eighteen feet apart will soon come together and make a 

 dense wall of very beautiful, bright, light-green foliage. The pepper 

 is not only a good windbreak, but also an excellent dust-catcher. 

 Unlike most trees which are used for this purpose, it does not be- 

 come laden with dust. The leaves are smooth and glossy, and 

 therefore repel the dust particles, which, stopped in their flight by 

 the dense foliage of the tree, instead of clinging to it drop to the 

 ground. The growth of the pepper tree near the coast is much 

 slower than that of the Monterey cypress. The eucalyptus and the 

 cypress for the coast, and the eucalyptus and pepper for the interior 

 valleys, make, probably, as perfect a wall of foliage all the year 

 round as can be had. The blue gum is, however, somewhat subject 

 to frost killing, especially when young, and in very frosty places 

 is objected to on that account. A number of other species of 

 eucalyptus are now being planted, and are being found more hardy 

 than the blue gum. The rostrata, rudis, tereticornis, polyanthema, 

 amygdalina, viminalis and others are of this character. 



The Monterey pine (Pinus insignis) is a rapid, high-growing tree, 

 and, though a native of the coast, has proved itself well adapted to 

 the interior valleys of the central portion of the State. Its foliage is 

 dense for a pine, and its shelter, therefore, the more complete. A 

 native white cedar (Libocedrus decurrens) has also been employed 

 as a shelter tree in the San Joaquin Valley, and is commended as 

 a rapid grower in the interior as on the coast. Its ability to stand 

 drouth, heat and frost is said to exceed that of any of the conifers 

 of the seacoast. It stands well in the most exposed situations, as 

 its roots run very deep into the earth and it is claimed that it does 

 not sap the fertility from the soil around its base, as with the blue 

 gum. It is also said to be less subject to frost injury than the 

 Monterey cypress and pine. 



All the foregoing are evergreen trees, and therefore afford pro- 

 tection summer and winter alike. Of deciduous trees there are many 

 which may be well employed. The California black walnut makes 

 a very satisfactory growth both in the interior and upon the coast, 

 and is largely used for roadside planting. The California broad- 

 leaved maple (Acer macrophylla) is very beautiful, rapid in growth, 

 and dense in foliage, and the same is true of the box elder (Acer 

 negrundo), but probably both trees are especially suited to the coast 



