The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-10-18
WONDERFUL TREES.
Some Peculiar Specimens Trees That Produce
Bread, Mix Or TallOW.

The study of vegetable life shows US many
things as strange and as wonderful as the
the animal kingdom affords; and when it
comes to longevity, animal life makes very
poor comparative showing.
If we were inclined to travel far enough
we might sit under the shade OF trees that
spread their branches when little Moses
slept in his wicker basket among the bull
rushes of the Nile. The gigantic trees of
California are very old, but they are infants
compared with some of the wonderful trees
OF the old world
There is an African tree called the bao-
bah, which lives to be thousands of years
old. Humboldt called it tine oldest organic
monument on our planet" One specimen
OF it that was carefully examined by an En-
glish hotanist proved to be $3.50 years old.
At least that was the result of the usual
tests for determining the lives of trees.
This particular tree was 30 feet in diameter.
and the spread Of its branches was enor-
nous.
Another wonder of longevity is the So
called dragons blood tree of Teneritfe.
Resin obtained from this tree has been
found in sepulchres, where it had been used
Tor embaming the dead. Trees of this
species are now standing which are esti-
mated as being older than the Egyptian
pyramids.
One of the strangest of trees is the lta
palm found a6undantly on the banks of the
Amazon and other South American rivers.
In the swampy regions, which cover I'M
mense areas, the TIA palm furnishes food,
drink, clothing and comfortable homes for
the natives.
The Indians that inhabit these swampy
districts make a tolerable wine from the sap
of the palm, and they distill stronger slim
ulanU by crushing and fermentlng the young
fruits. The food is derived from the soft
inner bark Of the stems, and Is substance
hit i'm st and aDOaarance. closely resent
bles sage.
The soft and fibrOus bark is used for gar
ments and for making string, ropes, ham
mocks and the like. In times Of high water,
often lasting two or three months, the ma
tiyes make flUorings in the trees with the
bark ropes, and live there in comfort aud
cOntentment
The tree of most varied usefulness is
probably what is commonly called the
| American aloe Il can hardly be dignified
! by the name of tree, and might more prop
ery be called plant. 1t grows in South
| America aud is found all the way from the
| plains to elevations 10000 feet above the
| sea-
1t furnishes thread for sewing and ropes
| from which cables are made strong enough
| to suspend bridge more than 100 feet long
| Humboldt mentions one bridge $50 feet
| long, swung from cables four inches in
| diameter, that were made from this palm
! bark.
| bark. and the leaves are used for cleansing,
| securing and the manufacture of razor
! strops BY evaporating the water from the
| thin sap soap is obtained ''as detergent as
! CASTLE, and will mix and form lather with
| salt water as well as with fresh" as arepu-
| table authority tells us.
| The sap also contains sugar. and this Is
| used largely in the manu- facture of liquor.
! 1t Is said that a very Intoxicating brandy Is
| another product of the sap, and as the ma
| rather
tacks of sobriety the statement Is pr0pa bly,
correct.
The bread-fruit tree hourishes in many of
| the Islands of the South Pacific Ocean, and
also in some of the Islands Of the East
| Indies. 1t is a comparatively large tree,
| averaging, perhaps, one foot IN diameter.
The fruit is as large as a child's head. 1t
is covered with thin skin and has rela-
| lively small core. 1t is snowy white and
about the consistency of newly baked bread.
| In order to prepare it for food ii is cut into
| large slices and roasted.
It is said to be easily digested and very
nutritious and it certainly forms staple
article Of food for thousands of people
Another wonder of this kind is the cow
| tree of South America, which is credited
with yielding II tactical fluid which in col or,
| taste and nutrtlve property closely res EN-
bles the offerings of your milkman. 1t orms
| large forests in some districts of Nene Zuela
and is much priced for its product.
The tallOw tree of China is so called from
the fact that it produces substance res EN-
bling talow and which is used for similar
| purposes. The fruit Is inclosed within a
pod.
white pulp is found within and this
| substance the Chinese use in maxi ng
| candles, mixing little oil with il TO make it
softer and more pliabe.
Tne paper-tree of the South Seas is a
species Of the mulberry Its inner bark is
so delicate that soft and pleasant-fsslin G
cloth is made from it, which the natives us Q
in making their best suits" II is also
used in the manufacture of very fine grad e
of paper.
Inc fiction about the deadly upas tree of
Java, which was published in Holland a
little more than a hundred years ago. and
which was believed for many years, has
only this substantial basis:
The tree eXudes poisonous juice, whic h
the natives dry and mix with other iugredi- =
cnts for the tips of their arrows. Further =
more, the upas tree is found in the low a l.
ley of Java, where deadly carbonic aci d
often escapes from crevices In volcanic
rocks.-Philadelphi Times.