August 22, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



271 



Furthermore, the saving of time and print- 

 er's ink would amount to something in a 

 word so often used. J. E. Todd 



TJNivERSirY OF Kansas 



FROST IN CALIFORNIA 



To THE Editor of Science : In a recent issue 

 of Science mention was made of the effect of 

 a recent freeze upon the vegetation of south- 

 ern California resulting in the destruction of 

 many introduced varieties, including some 

 very large trees. 



The writer has been considerably interested 

 in observing the eiiect of the freeze in this 

 section, especially upon the different varieties 

 of trees. Immediately following the freeze it 

 did appear that many of the trees were prob- 

 ably killed. Peppers, eucalyptus, acacias and 

 grevilleas among the larger trees suffered 

 severely. Trees two to three feet in diameter 

 and from twenty-five to thirty years old in 

 some cases had the bark split clear to the 

 wood almost from top to bottom of the tree. 

 The bark turned black clear to the wood and 

 great masses of it could be split off easily. 

 Supposing that trees in such condition were 

 certainly dead scores of them were cut down 

 at once. Wiser counsel was to delay opera- 

 tions until opportunity was given to see what 

 the outcome might be. 



One can scarcely conceive what such a loss 

 means to a community such as this, where 

 shade means so much and where such magnifi- 

 cent results have been obtained. Some of our 

 streets were lined with rows of eucalyptus 

 from Y5 to 150 feet high. Many of these have 

 been cut down. Subsequent results show that 

 delay in cutting and pruning was the wiser 

 course in this instance, for, incredible as it 

 may seem, many of the trees which had their 

 bark split and turned black and loosened from 

 the wood seem to have begun to develop a new 

 bark, or in many cases the old bark seems to 

 be reuniting with the wood and leaves and 

 branches are being put forth. 



I do not believe a single pepper of any size 

 perished. In fact it seems to the writer that 

 in their new coat of green they look brighter 

 and fresher than ever. 



Some of the acacias and grevilleas were 

 probably killed, but I visited an acacia just 

 recently which two weeks ago one would cer- 

 tainly have pronounced dead. The bark was 

 split and loosened from the trunk and dry as 

 tinder, the limbs were bare and brittle and 

 dry enough to burn, but to my surprise when 

 last I saw it here and there along the trunk 

 the bark seemed to be reforming and green 

 shoots a foot or more in length had grown. 

 It looks as if with judicious pruning and care 

 the tree might be made to live, though prob- 

 ably hideously deformed. 



Perhaps the most surprising results are to 

 be observed among the eucalyptus trees. Some 

 varieties have suffered severely. The sugar 

 gum (E. cornocalyx) , lemon gum {E. citri- 

 odora), E. rohusta and E. callyophylla suffered 

 considerably. The blue gum. E. glohulus, was 

 injured in some localities. E. amygdalina 

 was not injured at aU. 



The surprising feature in every case is the 

 formation of a new bark or the rejuvenation 

 of the old. Trees on which the bark was split 

 and black and loosened from the wood now 

 have bark green and full of sap and firmly 

 united to the wood. The branches are for the 

 most part dead, except the very large ones, and 

 stand out bare and brown. The trunk and 

 larger branches are covered almost from top 

 to bottom with a new extremely dense growth 

 of adventitious branches, thickly covered with 

 leaves, giving the tree a peculiar fuzzy ap- 

 pearance. 



Judging from the recovery of trees which 

 two months ago were apparently lifeless, I 

 believe it is safe to say that very few trees 

 which were more than two or three years old 

 and in a fairly healthy condition when the 

 freeze came need have been cut. Judicious 

 pruning will later be necessary. 



S. A. Skinner 

 Eedlands High School, 

 Eedlands, Cal. 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS 

 Anleitung zur Xuliur der MiJcroorganismen. 

 Von Ernst Kuster. 2d edition. Leipzig 

 and Berlin, B. G. Teubner. 1913. 



