﻿AN ECONOMIC STUDY OF ACACIAS. 7 



"species which were extensively propagated, and one of them, Acacia 

 farnesiana, familiar about the missions of San Diego and Santa Bar- 

 bara, was grown by nurserymen in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and 

 Sacramento as early as 1854. Potted acacias and acacia flowers, 

 grown at Sacramento, were exhibited at one of the first agricultural 

 fairs held in California, in 1855. An Australian acacia bloomed at 

 Marysville before 1860. 



[The importation of acacia seed from Australia began in a curious 

 way. A few of the Australians who cajne to California at the time of 

 the gold fever brought over seeds and rooted plants and sold them 

 to the nurserymen at high prices. By 1853 Col. Warren, who had 

 established the California Farmer, was obtaining Australian seeds 

 from these immigrants, and was soon importing direct from Sydney. 

 In 1854 he was advertising acacia seed, and nurserymen in the vicinity 

 of San Francisco were planting Acacia decurrens and Acacia mela- 

 noxylon. These two species were the pioneers of the Australian 

 acacias in California. Acacias from these early importations were 

 blooming and attracting attention in San Francisco, San Jose, and 

 Sacramento by 1858. 



By 1862 the late Julius Forrer, a German, for a long time the capa- 

 ble foreman of one of the University of California experiment stations, 

 was growing in his nursery in San Francisco these species: Acacia 

 cyanophylla, A. cuneata, A. dealbata, A. Tiomalophylla, A. linearis, A. 

 longifolia A. lunata, A. melanoxylon, A. u moUissima 1 ' 1 {A. decurrens 

 var. mollissima), A. pendula, and A. receana. 



, Between 1870 and 1875 enthusiam in acacia planting was at a high 

 pitch. This was followed by a sudden reaction due to the introduc- 

 tion and depredations of scale insects. Since 1880, however, Cali- 

 fornia nurserymen have increased their stock of acacias, and since 

 1900 sales have been much greater, especially in southern California, 

 where some growers make a specialty of it. Mr. Wolleb, another 

 German, of Fruitvale, Alameda County, bought trees from Forrer's 

 nursery from 1862 to 1870 and tested many other species. In 1882 

 he published in the Rural Press a review of his experiments. He 

 had tested Acacia armata, argyrofolia, binervata, celestrifolia, cultri- 

 ■formis, cyanophylla, dentifera, discolor, farnesiana, extensa, pulchella, 

 latifolia, saligna, linearis, longifolia, lunata, nigricans, nerifolia, 

 receana, suavolens, verticillata, vestata, and some others now dropped 

 from cultivation. 



Other Californiansjbesides Mr. Wolleb made collections of acacias 

 before 1880 and kept notes on their growth. The late Gen. John Bid- 

 well planted some in Chico, Butte County, in the Sacramento Valley, 

 and they are now magnificent specimens. A few were set out in 

 Shasta City, about 200 miles north of San Francisco, and still flourish. 



