EUCAL YPTUS. 73 



years from the acorn in thoroughly establishing themselves. 

 \Yhile these oaks never grow very fast till after the fifth 

 year, their progress in my experiment has been satisfactory. 

 This different time of fastest growth may be due to the 

 different type of root growth. The blue gum is naturally 

 rather a surface root tree, while Quercus agrifolia is a deep 

 root delver: These characteristics might indicate that the 

 blue gum is a native of moist regions and our live oak of 

 dry ones. Frequently blue gums blow over because of 

 their shallow hold on the soil. I have never seen such an 

 accident befall Quercus agrifolia. This oak is my favorite 

 tree, but the best growth from the acorn in my plantings 

 is twenty-seven feet in twelve years. 



Quercus agrifolia has, locally, the widest range of 

 any of our Southern California trees. It luxuriates with 

 the rich-leaved alder and the willow, by the springs, 

 courses down the sandy torrent beds, hand in hand with 

 great sycamores, even to the spray line of the sea, wanders 

 out into the open plain with the gnarled and thorny blue 

 oak, and then, like some sweet, confiding maid, ventures 

 with all her beauties, far into the dark canons, where, 

 amongst the graceful fronds of the fern brake, where the 

 oblivious sing-song of some murmuring brook goes on in 

 endless monologue, she, half hiding in the heavy shades of 

 green, now greets the haughty golden oak, or gives a hand 

 to some hardy rough browed spruce that has dared the 

 dangerous cliff descent to the valley's verge for such a 

 lovely sweetheart's sake. 



Eucalyptus diversicolor has suffered more than usually 

 from a general botanic name confusion. Outside of Aus- 

 tralia it is almost everywhere called Eucalyptus colossea. 

 This case of confusion grew out of giving specific rank to 



