Los Angeles daily herald., 1890-02-14
EUCALYPTUS GLOBULUS.
A LOrdly Tree that Ought to
Adorn this Section.
LET Us RAISE OUR FUEL.
Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars
that Ought to be Kept at Home
by Planting Trees.

OF all the 100 varieties of eucalyptus
the common blue gum is the most useful.
the most important tree for Southern
California. 1t does not thrive in Flor
ida; the cold spells of winter cut il
down or stunt its growth; but on the
Pacific Coast, from Eureka to Tia Juana
a distance of 800 miles. it is stately
mighty advance agent of our new civiliza
ton. Twenty years ago our plains were
absolutely treeless-desert-lik psrched
and brown, lifeless almost-a picture Of
despair. Then the first boxes
of seedlings were imported from
Australia and sold at public
auction in San Francisco, at s.
tree. Today the precious little giants
sell at one cent tree. Remi Nadeau, a
recently departed genius deeply regretted
by his many friends, was one of the first
men to appreciate the value of the eucal.
yptus as fuel tree. He conceived and
executed the gigantic project OF
planting 1000 acres of sandy land
at Florence to blue gums. Over
one million trees in one plantation !!
Today it is stately forest of mighty
trees, towering tall and straight $50 feet,
. monument to the enterprise of our by
gone friend. Every third year the trees
are cut down, yielding 60 cords of 4.foot
wood to the acre, worth $6 to 81 a cord
standing, or 81 to So cut and corded; the
net income is therefore $420 for the three
years, or $40 per acre per year. And
every time the trees are cut, q
new forest springs up from the old
stumps, and there is no expense to be
incurred after the first year for either
plowing, cultivatiDg or irrigating, for
deep down into the hidden water courses
in the earth does the blue gum send
down its thirsty roots, thirty feet even,
where the water is as far below the sur
face; and it makes it's giant growth
in the poorest sandy wastes of our river
washes; drawing it's sustenance out Of
the atmosphere through its wealth of
evergreen leaves. What perfume,
what tonic is inhaled by the beautiful
foliage of the eucalyptus when night
brings rest and coolness to our plains.
Fevers lose their terror and malaria
departs with q creeping horror, where
the rustling. whispering groves OF stately
eucalyptus watt fragrance over the house.
Pour boiling water over the leaves OF the
bluegum and drink the powerful tonic.
1t is equal to quinine to dispel the terrors
of sickness. The contagious atmosphere
of the sick-room today is cleaned by
sprinkling on the floor of an essential
oil, "Eucalyptole," extracted by the
science of the chemist from the
resinous leaves of eucaly ptus globulus or
eucalyptus amygdalina. Years ago the
winds would sweep over our treeless, un-
resisting plains. The Santa Anas'
were terror to the farmer and orchard
list. Today miles of eucalyptus surround
our fields, line our avenues and encircle
our orchards. They act as pow
erfui wind-breaks, protect the tender
buds of our fruit trees from the
March winds, and yield an abund-
ance of fuel, where of yore
the shiftless Mexican vainly hunted for
dried manure or brea to light his smoky
fire. Stranger, imagine the beauty of
our avenues of blue gums twenty or a
hundred years from now, when the trees
average over 200 feet in length, over Is
feet in diameter, as they do to-
day in their native land, Australia.
Our southern plains will rival then the
wonders of the Yosemite in their big
trees. The question of fuel and timber
supply is becoming more serious, more
important from year to year on the Pa
cifc Coast, as the giant red wood yields
to the greedy AK Of the all-absorb-
ing lumber trusts. If you own
any lots or acres that are idle or unpro-
ductive, plant them in blue gum. A
town lot 50x150 feet will grow 200 trees
six feet apart, and every tree when
years old, is worth $3.50 for fuel
in city. Your lot thus yields
you $500 in five years or $50 year.
and fifty acres in blue gums will yield
you an annual income of $1,000. The
Mayor of our city is planting 15C
acres to blue gums this season
they will yield him handsome
revenue few years hence. The mighty
forest will be an object of beauty to be-
hold and source of perpetual income to
his heirs. Let the good work proceed o.
planting the beautiful blue gum in for
ests for fuel, around orchards and fields
for wind-breaks and for ornament il
slightly avenues, affording shade anG
shelter along our streets.
The most important of other varieties
OF eucalyptus are:
l. Eucalyptus citriodora, whose foliage
is 30 strongly scented that if your hanC
merely touches one of it's slender, pointed
leaves, it's sweet odor will be perceived
for hours. Its leaves yield by distillatior
q large quantity of volatile essential OF
of excellent lemon-like fragrance.
Eucalyptus amygdalins, lordly tree
has reached height of 40 feet in Aus
tTalia, and yields an oil of remarkable
autiseptic power, largely used for medi'
cinal purposes.
Eucalyptus fcifolia, dwarfed species
with beautiful glossy leaves resembling
those of the rubber tree, and bearing
magnificent crimson -colored flowers.
Eucalyptus nastrata, the red gum,
grows straight and tall, without twisting
the trunk, and the bark does not natur.
ally peel off.
Eucalyptus resinifera. or mahogany
eucalyptus of New South Wales, is oi
great value as timber tree and fur.
nishes wood of remarkable strength and
durability.
Seeding trees of the blue gum can be
procured at trifling cost. They should
be planted in March or April, when all
the danger of frost is passed, and after
the ground, plowed twice, is free from
weeds. During the first years growth
the ground should be cultivated three or
four times; afterwards no further ex-
pense of any kind need be incurred, and
the grove will be forever source of un-
failing revenue to it's fortunate owner.
The cost of trees ia ahol1t can't nor tree