FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
71 
background of dark green leaves, all the 
year round. 
For windbreak, or tall hedge pur¬ 
poses, the camphor tree is a friend in¬ 
deed, while, grown apart, and trimmed 
to tree shape, it is a joy forever, because 
it is a thing of great beauty. The ocean 
winds can not blast it, nor the cold, such 
as we have, shrivel it. It grows in poor 
soil, not even disdaining our white sand, 
which some say is no soil at all. It is 
neither a great eater nor a great drinker, 
and is graceful, glossy, and evergreen 
and moreover can more than pay its 
way by furnishing the camphor of com¬ 
merce. 
Mango and avocado pear trees can be 
made to please the eye as well as tempt 
the palate. Both can be raised from seed, 
provided you plant the proper end of 
the seed down, the pear preferring to 
stand where planted, the mango yielding 
more gracefully to change of location. 
Both can get along without fertilizer, 
but they do eat when they are able to 
dine with friends, the mango preferring 
to eat with the pineapples, the pear lik¬ 
ing better the fare of the orange trees. 
Neither tree can stand our cold weather, 
so when your thermometer has registered 
24 degrees and the “eager and nipping 
air” has been “biting shrewdly” take 
your little saw and go out and saw off 
your mangoes and “alligator” pear trees 
—short—if you ever want to see them 
again. ^ 
Judging from the frequent recurrence 
of the name Royal Poinciana in Florida 
geography and literature generally, the 
outsider might reasonably expect to find 
this famous tree as plentiful as golden 
rod. But the fact is, that while many 
are planted, but few are seen, in the 
gorgeous perfection possible to the tree. 
The Royal Poinciana is hedged about 
with enemies. The cold is fatal to it. In 
1895 I a tree having a trunk twelve 
inches in diameter and a spread of six¬ 
ty feet, go down in a temperature of 28 
degrees; and while a temperature of 28 
degrees is rare, the winds we have al¬ 
ways with us, and a strong wind makes 
a Royal Poinciana tree look like “Polly 
after her celebrated tussle with the 
monkey. The Dwarf Poinciana is less 
of a trial than its Royal kinsman, yet 
carries much of the family beauty. It 
reaches the height of twelve feet, and, 
planted in a hedge or in a circle, with the 
red and yellow alternating, produces a 
truly gorgeous effect. An every-day 
acquaintance which can be used with tell¬ 
ing results is the Kumquat. It is hardy 
and grows rapidly, and in two years’ 
time its glossy foliage will be dotted here 
and there with those miniature oranges 
which never fail to elicit admiration and 
arouse curiosity. 
Palms, of course, are the distinctive 
and characteristic glory of this section, 
and the natural impulse is, to plant them 
in profusion regardless of everything 
but the dictates of fancy. This is es¬ 
pecially the case among those who are 
fresh from the land where a palm is a 
possibility only to the millionaire or the 
florist. My advice to palm enthusiasts 
who are just starting on their mad ca¬ 
reer is this: “Stick to palmettoes, date 
palms and sago palms.” If, in this latitude 
you rely upon cocoanuts, royal palms, 
and other fancy varieties, for yard ef¬ 
fects, some real cold, wintry day will 
leave you with nothing of beauty where¬ 
on to rest your eye, after it tires of con¬ 
templating the frozen emptiness of your * 
pocketbook. 
In order to enhance the tropical charm 
of your home be sure to leave a corner 
for the giant bamboo; a corner where 
the gracefully waving outlines may be 
