4 ORNAMENTAL VALUE OF SALTBUSHES. 
probably makes greater use of them as ornamentals than any other 
locality in this country. Here the utilization of these shrubs is 
general. One species is used very effectively as a hedge plant. 
(See PI. I, fig. 2.) ~ 
It was thought that Doctor Franceschi, who has done so much for 
the horticulture of southern California, was responsible for the prac- 
tice, but upon inquiry he modestly disclaims any credit for the inno- 
vation and informs us that the people of Santa Barbara adopted the 
use of the saltbush without the aid of any horticulturist. Who first 
used it is not known, but certain it is that the plant is well adapted 
for the purpose to which it is put, and in many places in the city 
makes an effective hedge which sets off to good advantage the other 
more highly colored ornamentals and the more tender plants which 
erow here to perfection. If such ornamentals are effective in a 
locality which can grow such a wealth of tropical and subtropical 
plants, how much more should related native species having equal 
ornamental qualities be of value in other regions where the growing 
of tender ornamentals is difficult. 
CHARACTER OF A HEDGE OF SALTBUSHES. 
At Santa Barbara the local native, Atriplex breweri, is the species 
employed. In this locality the plant is an evergreen. Its develop- 
ment is very rapid under favorable conditions, a hedge well cared 
for often becoming 18 inches or 2 feet high in a single season from 
cuttings set in the spring. 
The color of the plant is a dull, ashen, gray-green, very different 
from privet, boxwood, pomegranate, and other common shrubby 
hedge plants. In many settings this is not a disadvantage, for the 
ever-present dust is less noticeable upon such foliage than upon the 
rich, glossy surface of the privet, for example, and a pleasing varia- 
tion is afforded by the use of the gray, dull-colored plant. The 
growth may be made as thick and impenetrable as desired by frequent 
clipping when young. The writer has never seen a heavier, thicker 
growth than is found in some of the well-trained hedges of Santa 
Barbara. A hedge may be brought to any shape or size up to 6 or 8 
feet high, and apparently lasts indefinitely when properly cared for. 
A neglected hedge, or one which for any reason is not satisfactory, 
can be cut down and will easily make a perfect hedge 3 feet high in 
one season from the old stumps. 
The main disadvantage of the plant when used as a hedge is that 
the wood is brittle and it can be broken down more easily than some 
other hedge plants. It may be for this reason that the saltbush 
hedges grown in California are invariably wider than is usual for 
this kind of planting. However, the compactness of the growth 
[Cir. 69] 
