FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
153 
sary I believe we women could build some 
good roads, too). 
From the agitation that we constantly 
see in the press relative to the necessity for 
and the value and comfort that good 
roads mean to a community, I haven’t the 
least doubt of seeing not only our own 
State, but every other State in our Union, 
covered with a network of first class high¬ 
ways inside of five years. Residents of 
the New England States will motor be¬ 
tween their summer homes in the North 
to their winter homes in Florida, along an 
ever shifting roadway scene enlivened 
with the rich autumn tints of the northern 
woods, dissolving gradually into' the soft 
purples of the more Southern States until 
tropical Florida, with her feathery palms 
and balmy air, bids them tarry until Moth¬ 
er Nature lifts her magic wand and they 
roll back over a newly awakened earth 
bedecked with dogwood, laurel, rhododen¬ 
dron, peach and apple bloom set in the 
vivid green of spring’s emerald robe. 
Next to good roads, the greatest attraction 
we can offer (outside of our balmy cli¬ 
mate) is a tropical environment that ap¬ 
peals to one’s sense of beauty as does no 
other, and the reason for this I am una¬ 
ble to give. To make this tropical envi¬ 
ronment we must know what to plant to 
accomplish this end. The list of trees and 
plants that follow are peculiarly tropical 
in their appearance and suggestiveness. 
Let it be understood that many are left 
out that are most beautiful, but these may 
be included by any who wishes a more 
complete line of tropical plants than I 
give, and to those I wish to call attention 
to a most comprehensive list that is includ¬ 
ed in the paper submitted by Prof. Charles 
T. Simpson in the proceedings of our So¬ 
ciety for 1912. Professor Simpson has 
this fine work under a separate cover now, 
and it may be obtained by writing him at 
Little River, Florida. 
All members of the Palm family stand 
first in the list of desirable trees for trop¬ 
ical effects. Best among these are Wash¬ 
ington ia robusta, all of the Phoenix palms, 
all the Cocos, the Palmettoes, the Royal 
palms and two Sago palms. In this list 
are thirty-six different trees having at 
least three different characteristics as to 
leaf formation. In California one sees al¬ 
most exclusively three different Wash- 
ingtonias which are so much alike that a 
novice in plant knowledge woud not de¬ 
tect a difference. Then comes Phoenix 
sylvestris, and a limited number of the 
Cocos types. Over there they are com¬ 
pelled to limit their types, but here we 
have a much greater range of choice, and 
those I named may be, and should be, used 
extensively for street and park decoration, 
as well as for the grounds of residences. 
All the Rubber trees may be used south 
of Lakeland, these being quite tropical in 
their requirements and sensitive to low 
degrees of cold. Magnolias do well in 
many parts of the State, and make noble 
trees when full grown. Bamboos do ex¬ 
ceedingly well here, and varieties may be 
found that grow luxuriantly in all parts 
of the State. The Royal Poinciana and 
blue Jacaranda are two trees whose merits 
cannot be overrated where the tempera¬ 
ture does not fall lower than 28 degrees 
in cold weather. 
Among rare tropical trees that have 
been tested by Professor Simpson and 
found to do well in his locality are Kige- 
