32 EUCALYPTS IN FLORIDA. 



taken up commercially and developed on a large scale. The sooner 

 the unsystematic introduction of eucalyptus is replaced by systematic 

 and definitely planned experiments, the sooner will the planting of 

 eucalypts in Florida be placed on a solid foundation. 



Again, the commercial planting of eucalypts in Florida is radically 

 different from what it is in southern California. In California, 

 until recently, eucalypts have been grown chiefly to supply the de- 

 mand for fuel wood, which, in a country where hardwood trees are 

 scarce, brings a good price. In Florida there is no present demand 

 for the introduction of a new tree for fuel wood. It is doubtful 

 whether wood grown in plantations could compete in price with the 

 abundant suppty of native timber. The sole inducement for growing 

 eucalypts on a commercial scale would therefore be to produce ties, 

 poles, piles, saw timber, and posts, which the native species can not 

 produce as quickly and cheaply. But to furnish such products 

 plantations would have to be allowed to grow for a longer time than 

 is usual with the eucalyptus groves planted for cordwood ; and the 

 longer the period during which the trees must be grown before they 

 can be cut the greater is the danger from severe frosts. The financial 

 loss from a freeze in Florida may, therefore, be much greater than in 

 California, where small-sized timber can be marketed. 



Disregarding the risk of freezing, and assuming that the species 

 planted would do as well in Florida as in Brazil or California, the 

 wood of eucalyptus would be entirety new on the market, and might 

 not find a read}' sale on account either of its weight, the difficulty 

 in handling and seasoning it, or the consumer's lack of knowledge of 

 its qualities. The reputation of eucalyptus wood is based chiefly on 

 the wood obtained from mature timber of some such species as Jarrah 

 and Karri, imported from Australia, which unquestionably furnishes 

 a high grade of hardwood for lumber and structural purposes and 

 brings a high price in the market. But the trees from which this 

 wood is obtained are from 200 to 400 years old. Whether the 

 eucalyptus trees grown in Florida would yield valuable wood if cut 

 when still very young is a question which can be determined by actual 

 experiment. There are many instances of woods which enjoy a high 

 reputation when grown under natural conditions in their native 

 home, but when produced under different conditions in a foreign 

 country are difficult to market. One of the most striking examples 

 is white pine {Pinus strohus). The lumber from American-grown 

 large virgin timber had earned a very high reputation in Germany 

 and Austria, so this pine has been extensively cultivated abroad; 

 but when managed on a short rotation, as most of the forests are 

 managed abroad, it produced only sapwood. With this treatment it 



