206 PROCEEDINGS OF THIRTY-SIXTH FRUIT-GROWERS ' CONVENTION. 



its depths. Nor do we know how much the still unknown secrets of 

 nature when mastered will contribute, if rightly used, to the power and 

 welfare of the human race. 



I am sure there are no lines of research into the still unknown fields 

 of science that promise so great a reward as in that of horticulture — 

 the propagation, care, and development of plants and their fruits. No 

 other production of nature contributes so much, and directly to the 

 physical life and welfare of mankind, and I can conceive of no limit 

 to their future development and usefulness, nor of any ultimate 

 knowledge of all the resources of nature that may contribute to that 

 development. 



PRESIDENT JEFFREY. We will now be favored with a paper on 

 eucalyptus by our State Forester, Mr. Lull. 



EUCALYPTUS COMMERCIALLY CONSIDERED. 



By G. B. Lull, State Forester. 



It is of great importance just at this time that reliable information 

 on the subject of growing eucalypts in California be given to the 

 public. Persistent reports of the impending failure of the Nation's 

 hardwood supply, together with a growing belief that the future 

 demand will be met, to a large extent, by California-grown eucalypts, 

 have already induced hundreds of persons to establish plantations and 

 thousands to buy stock or acreage of them, in order to take advantage 

 of this market. Many more will doubtless become interested during 

 the next few years. Inasmuch as many purchasers of stock or acreage 

 in eucalyptus companies are residents in Eastern States, their only 

 chance of judging whether the claims of promoters are correct is by 

 correspondence or through reading the publications of the State and 

 Federal forest offices on this subject. 



There can be no doubt that, rightly undertaken, eucalyptus growing 

 is a sound, conservative business, of a sort to be encouraged. It prom- 

 ises to be of the highest value, not only to this State, but to the country 

 as a whole, for the prevention of a hardwood famine is a matter of 

 national concern. It is. however, of special interest to the State, for 

 if the eucalypts become the principal hardwoods in use it means a 

 shifting of the source of supply from the East to California and the 

 removal hither of most of the woodworking plants depending on it. 

 California will then furnish to the country not only the raw material, 

 but the manufactured product also, with the utmost profit to herself. 

 But these benefits will not follow, or at best will be greatly delayed, 

 unless the business of growing eucalypts is. from the start, established 

 on a sound basis. It is evident that the failure of any considerable 

 number of persons to obtain as good results as they expect will seri- 

 ously harm the industry, particularly if. on investigation, it is discov- 

 ered that no substantial basis for their expectations ever existed. 



Companies buying land for eucalyptus purposes should consider this 

 seriously, for in that single transaction they determine the success or 

 failure of their venture very largely. The belief is prevalent in Cali- 

 fornia that land for any cause unsuited to agriculture is as good for 

 eucalyptus as is the best agricultural soil. It probably is true that 



