Miscellaneous. 



570 



[June 1908. 



"SOME BEAUTIFUL TROPICAL 

 TREES AND THEIR USES." 



By H. F. Macmillan. 



The selection of this subject I owe chiefly 

 to the Hon'ble Mr. Ferguson, who has been 

 lately collecting information about flower- 

 ing trees in the neighbourhood of Colombo. 

 I have for the present included under the 

 above heading only line flowering trees, not 

 however that there are not many trees 

 which are also very handsome on account of 

 their foliage ; but these might well form the 

 subject of another paper. The former may 

 be distinguished by the convenient term 

 Flowering Trees, which does not of course 

 apply in a botanical sense, since all trees 

 normally produce flowers, whether these are 

 showy or inconspicuous. Many flowering 

 trees of the tropics are of surpassing beauty 

 and magnificence, and the more they are 

 seen and the larger their number together, 

 the greater do their beauty appeal to one. 

 They have with few exceptions no counter- 

 parts in temperate countries, unless they 

 might by a stretch of the imagination be 

 considered as greatly magnified forms of 

 the more showy annuals and perennials 

 which so effectively adorn gardens and 

 parks in cooler climes. 



Apart from aesthetic purposes, however, 

 flowering trees in the tropics have an im- 

 portant utilitarian value. They combine in 

 many instances the qualities of shade and 

 ornament, and afford a grateful shelter from 

 the tropical sun to man and beast ; they cool 

 the temperature appreciably, they are sooth- 

 ing to the eye, and they possibly ease the 

 mind when perspiration wrings our brow. 

 A poet from under the shade of the Flamboy- 

 ant tree has said : — 



"We think not of the land 

 "Parched swooning, under cloudless burn- 

 ing sky, 



"But silent, gaze, entranced on beauty rare." 



It is admitted that trees in towns have a 

 valuable hygienic effect. One authority goes 

 so far as to assert that the atmosphere in the 

 neighbourhood of trees should be healthy as 

 mountain air. In a certain district in France 

 it has been computed that the average life 

 of man has been prolonged by four years 

 owing to the planting of trees. Local Muni- 

 cipal authorities and road engineers are 

 divided on the question of the utility of trees 

 in thoroughfares. Whilst, however, all admit 

 the great benefit of their shade to comfort 

 and even health, many contend that this is 

 outweighed by the damage they do to roads 

 and buildings. But the best replies to this 

 argument are : What are the kinds of trees 

 selected? How have they been planted? 

 What attention has been given them in their 

 young state in order that they might gro 



up as healthy sturdy trees ? Who looks after 

 their requirements afterwards, maintaining 

 their even balance and preventing serious 

 injury being done to their bark, roots, or 

 foliage ? Let those who are responsible 

 answer these questions. 



Personally I would urge the advisability 

 of planting choice and suitable trees wherever 

 practicable. In England as well as in other 

 temperate countries, every town has now its 

 avenues of trees, and every municipality of 

 importance has a special department for the 

 care and management of such trees. 



Many different kinds of trees may already 

 be seen in and about Colombo, but generally 

 speaking they are planted without due 

 regard to order, and seem to have a neg- 

 lected appearance. But presumably nobody 

 in particular is responsible. A striking ex- 

 ception is Chatham Street in Colombo, which 

 is planted with the beautiful and shady Pel- 

 tophorum. ferrugineum tree. Who would 

 not appreciate more thoroughfares planted 

 after this style ? There are many other 

 equally desirable trees, sufficient perhaps to 

 plant up every leading thoroughfare in 

 Colombo with a different species. To add 

 to their charm, too, I think that the name of 

 the tree so planted might be given to the 

 street or avenue. For example, Peltophorum 

 Street would sound more classical than 

 Chatham Street ; or, Amherstia Avenue than 

 Slave Island Road ; Cassia Terrace than Jail 

 Road ; and Spathodea Grove than Parana- 

 wadiya Lane, and so on. There seems no 

 valid reason why Colombo and other towns 

 should not thus become in course of time 

 as noted for their floral avenues and parks, 

 as French towns are famous for their beauti- 

 ful boulevards of foliage trees. 



But the planting of beautiful trees need 

 not be confined to towns, public parks, and 

 recreation grounds. The depressing effect of 

 the long unbroken stretches of rubber trees 

 in the Straits is a common complaint, and 

 rubber planters not infrequently long as 

 much for a change of landscape as for a 

 change of climate. One of the leading 

 owners of rubber property in the Straits has 

 lately confirmed this view in conversation 

 with the writer. A relief from the mono- 

 tony of interminable flats of rubber trees 

 would be afforded by planting up at least 

 boundary lines, wind-belts, &c, with bright 

 flowering trees. The same idea is equally 

 applicable in Ceylon, on Tea as well as Rub- 

 ber plantations, and I consider that as much 

 consideration should be given to the quality 

 of the trees planted immediately around the 

 Superintendent's bungalow for ornament, 

 as to those of the rest of the property for 

 economic purposes. Further, it is well-known 

 that the intermixture of trees as far as 

 practicable is a wise precaution against 

 disease and insect pests. 



