PLANTING OF FRUIT TREES IN THE DRY LANDS OF CHILE. 583 



showing their seed leaves above the ground, which already possess a 

 tap-root of perhaps one and a half to two inches long. Continuing 

 the observation, in the month of September it will be seen that these 

 same plants, with very little increase of growth above ground, possess 

 a root of 4 to 6 inches, reaching 8 inches and even a foot by November 

 and December. This peculiarity of the great and rapid growth of 

 the root in comparison with the small advance of the stem shows 

 the phenomenon which is produced in the birth of seeds on dry 

 land. It appears that Nature is prepared for the difficulty that these 

 plants are destined to experience in the long period of drought com- 

 mencing in October. They exert themselves to insure life by placing 

 their roots (being able to penetrate the moistened soil in winter) at 

 depths where the moisture does not completely disappear, notwith- 

 standing the great heat of summer in these places. 



The data gained by these observations and by the examination 

 of the seedling plants gave us an absolute certainty that the dry 

 hills of Chile, which had only been considered of use during the few 

 months of our winter and spring, could be re-atforested with valuable 

 trees of various kinds, if treated by special methods. A great stimulus 

 to us was the idea that we should be able to replace the Chilean trees 

 of these dry regions, all of them of small growth, by the tall species 

 of similar climates like those of Australia and California, which consist 

 of genuine giants belonging principally to the lamihes of Eucalyptus 

 and Pine, the splendid growth of which has been shown on the irrigated 

 hills of the country. \\ ith this idea we made experiments which 

 have been crowned by the most perfect success ; so much so that we 

 can now prove that even the highest and steepest dry hills can be 

 covered with valuable species of fruit and forest trees. 



If holes are dug more or less deep in the period of the greatest 

 drought of summer, and especially of autumn before the first rains, 

 examination of the surface of the vegetable soil of the hills as 

 well as of level lands in the hill country shows that the top layers 

 are absolutely dry. At about 8 inches down the colour of the earth 

 gradually begins to become darker on account of the traces of moisture 

 which it possesses. This darkening in colour increases lower down until, 

 at a depth of 14 to 16 inches, if you squeeze a handful of earth for 

 a moment and let it fall, on opening the hand you notice a cool 

 sensation, resulting from the evaporation of the trace of moisture 

 which the earth has left upon the skin. It can therefore be established 

 without doubt that even in the greatest drought of summer the soil 

 of the arid hills possesses a certain palpable humidity at a depth 

 of 14 to 16 inches. This fact, added to the peculiarity which the 

 roots possess of penetrating downwards rapidly in the dry soil, has 

 been the foundation on which we have established our system of 

 this kind of planting ; and the existence of certain species of trees 

 capable of living in land more or less dry, having organs peculiarly 

 adapted for the purpose, supplies the other necessary qualification 

 for a good result. The depth to which the roots of the young trees 



