EUCALYPTUS SEEDS 
25 
EUCALYPTUS SEEDS 
Requirements. The requirements for propagating- the 
seedling's are— 
A lath house or lath or cloth covered frames to shade 
the seed beds during the day. When growing on a 
large scale it will pay in every case to build a lath 
house. Shallow boxes or flats; a good light soil and 
water convenient for sprinkling. 
Flats or Boxes. These should be 3 inches deep and any 
size desired, though the size most convenient and gen¬ 
erally used is about 20 inches square and will hold 
100 plants. Some are using 18 inches square, the lat¬ 
ter being mostly ma.de of shakes sawed in half, using- 
inch pieces for ends and split shakes for the sides. 
This makes a box 16xlSx3 inches inside measurement 
and does very well. 
Soil. This should be a good light, sandy loam passed 
through a screen so as to take out any lumps or stones. 
If good leaf mold is procurable a small quantity of this 
may be mixed with the soil, as it helps to retain the 
moisture. 
Seed. Procure the best seed possible from the most re¬ 
liable source; it does not pay to use cheap seed, for 
by getting seed not true to name the loss cannot be 
calculated. 
Quantity of Seed. The quantity of seed to produce a 
given number of trees varies according to the species, 
as a fair average, however, 1 lb. should produce 20,- 
000 seedlings, though as high as 30,000 has been known. 
Time of Sowing. This varies somewhat according to the 
locality and the species to be sown. The usual time, 
however, is in June, or. early July, and seedlings from 
these sowings will be ready to set out in the field by 
the following February; later sowings are also made in 
August and early part of September and these seed¬ 
lings will be ready to plant out in April. 
Sowing the Seed. There are two methods of sowing 
the seed, viz. In seed beds and seed boxes. For 
raising limited quantities the latter method is prefer¬ 
able. Fill the boxes carefully with the prepared soil, 
smooth off the surface and press down lig'htly with a 
board, tamping it slightly in the corners. On this 
smooth surface, sow the seed broadcast using about % 
oz. of seed to a box, then cover the seed with the same 
kind of soil. This should be sifted over the surface 
through a fine-meshed sieve and not be more than 1-8 
of an inch deep. The boxes should then be placed in 
the lath house or in some place 'where they can be 
covered with lath or cloth covered frames. The soil 
must be kept moist at all times, the -watering should 
be done with a pot or a loose hose-nozzle so fine as 
to produce nothing but a spray. 
As soon as the young seedlings sho-w through the 
surface great care must be exercised in watering or the 
seedlings will “damp off.” Always water in the morn¬ 
ing and never at night. When raising the seedlings 
in commercial quantities, sowing in beds is often prac¬ 
ticed. The soil for these should be prepared in the 
same way as already mentioned. The surface smooth¬ 
ed out evenly and the seed sown and covered as al¬ 
ready mentioned, after this cover the beds with bur¬ 
lap stretched over a wooden frame work. This may be 
laid right on the ground and kept moist. As soon as 
the seedlings break through the crust of the ground 
this should be raised a little at first and gradually up 
until it is a foot above the ground. As the seedlings 
grow and get stronger this covering may be gradually 
removed so that they will harden to the full sun. 
Transplanting. When the seedlings are 2 to 3 inches 
high they are ready for transplanting, but they must 
first be hardened off by exposing them to the sun; 
transplant to the same kind of boxes as already men¬ 
tioned, 100 to a box, in perfect rows or checks using the 
same kind of soil as that in which the seed was sown 
though a trifle heavier or less sandy. Fill the boxes, 
press down the soil and smooth off the surface then 
mark the soil off by lines into ten divisions each way 
and plant where lines cross, 100 to a box. This may be 
done by marking the edges of sides of box and using a 
small straight edge that will drop inside of box or any 
other contrivance that will check off the soil in cen¬ 
ters of 100 to each box. A method often used by com¬ 
mercial growers is to have a board just the size of the 
inside of the box, in this are placed 100 screws, set 
at the right distance apart for the trees; the heads 
of the screws are left protruding about 3-8 of an inch 
from the board. This board is laid on the smooth sur¬ 
face of soil and hammered slightly with a wooden 
mallet thus making 100 impressions at the exact places 
for the plants. In planting make a hole for each 
seedling with a sharpened stick about the size of a lead 
pencil, firming the soil after putting in the plant. 
Sprinkle a thin layer of sand over the surface of 
the soil; this helps to hold the moisture and will keep 
the surface from baking. Before the young seedlings 
are taken from the seed box or bed they should have a 
thorough watering so that they will come out of the 
soil easily without breaking the roots -which must not 
be allowed to dry on any account during the process 
of transplanting. When growing the plants for sale 
it is advisable to grade seedlings into sizes at the 
time of transplanting so that when the plants are 
ready for sale they will be of an even size in one box 
and the boxes containing the larger Size plants can 
be sold first and the smaller ones later in the season. 
As soon as the seedlings are transplanted they must 
be watered thoroughly and set in complete shade for a 
few days until they thoroughly recuperate; after that 
they should be gradually hardened to the sun and 
cared for until they are ready to set out in the 
field. 
Planting Out in the Field. The land should be plowed as 
deeply as possible and well harrowed. The time to 
plant varies according to the Climatic ccndiiions. In 
localities where there is ’ittle or no frost, planting 
may be done in the winter time, thus getting the bene¬ 
fit of the rains, but in sections where frost prevails 
planting should be deferred until spring. The size 
at which the plants are best to set out is from 6 to 10 
inches. The boxes may be taken to the field and left 
at convenient points. One side of the box should be 
taken off and each plant cut out with a square of 
earth and then planted with a trowel, talcing care not 
to break this ball of earth and the plants should be set 
about one inch deeper than they were in the box. A 
quart or so of water should be given to each plant as 
soon as it is set and afterwards hoe a little dry soil 
up around each plant. The distance at which to set 
the young plants varies according to the species planted, 
the soil and the purpose for which they are grown. 
On heavy soils where irrigation is not practiced they 
may be planted 6x6 feet apart, where irrigating and 
cultivating is practised 4x8 feet is a suitable distance 
and leaves an 8-foot space for plowing and irrigating. 
On lighter soils 8x8 feet is a good distance. Some are 
planting 7xS feet on the alternate or triangle system, 
placing the trees 8 feet apart in the rows and 7 feet 
between the rows which makes the trees 8 feet apart 
every way. It is claimed for this system that they do 
not throw so much shadow and get a more even amount 
of sunlight, causing the trees t'o make a straighter 
and more even growth when young. 
Care of the Young Trees. As the value of the grove de¬ 
pends largely upon the trees making a good start, it 
will pay wherever practical to irrigate and cultivate 
the tree's for at least the first two seasons. 
Thinning the Trees. To produce good lumber it is neces¬ 
sary that the trees grow straight. Close planting in¬ 
duces a straight growth. It is therefore better to 
plant closely and at the end of the first season grub 
out all weak and inferior trees. 
Species to Plant for Profit. In localities where the E. 
globulus, “Blue Gum” thrives, there is probably more 
money to be made and quicker returns, by planting 
this species than any other. For the hot interior sec¬ 
tions, E. rostrata and E. tereticornis are recognized 
as the leading commercial kinds. In localities not sub¬ 
ject to frost E. corynocalyx may be planted. For those 
who have the right conditions and can afford to wait 
longer for returns, E. resinifera will probably prove one 
of the most profitable on account of its very valuable 
wood, which is used for furniture and interior finish¬ 
ing and is imported very largely by railway com¬ 
panies for the inside of cars under the trade name of 
Australian Mahogany. 
LATE INTRODUCTIONS. 
The two following species are of late introduction and 
have not yet been thoroughly tested in California. The 
late Mr. Dwight Whiting planted some of both these 
trees at El Toro, in Orange County, a few years ago 
and so far both species have done remarkably well and 
promise to be among the best for growing in California 
in sections near the coast. 
E. Bosistoiana. “Bairnsdale Grey Box.” Mr. J. Black- 
burne, Forest Inspector of Maryborough, Victoria, Aus¬ 
tralia, speaks of this tree as follows: “It produces a 
clean, sound wood, much esteemed for the construction 
of wharves, jetties and bridges. It grows to large di¬ 
mensions. Trees are to be found in South Victoria 
containing 20,000 feet super of timber. It furnishes also 
good railway sleepers and street paving blocks. This 
Euealypt grows naturally near the coast and is never 
found far inland.” Pkt. 25c, oz. $2.50. 
