The herald., 1893-02-05
|||A|P| PEEN||||NGS ON THE RAHChA
News Notes Of Interest to Hor.
ticulturists.
Genius Masquerading Under the
Name of Robusta.
The Grape Syrup Product of California.
The Output OF Baby Orange
Tree-Fruit and Farm
ing Notes.

There are several distinct varieties of
gums masquerading under the name of
Robusta. Which is the true one we do
not pretend to decide, but we do know
that the Robusta coming from Algeria
80 far surpaases all others, that it alone
should claim the name. 1t is not n
native OF Algeria; no eucalyptus ia in
digenous to that country. The French
government has spent and are spend
ing vast sums of money in Algeria to
reclaim tracts of land now sterile, and
trees by the million are being planted.
The work is in the hands of scientific
men and great care is taken to plant
different varieties of trees as the soil
seems best adopted. Our own country
is drawn largely upon fr1 cedar, spruce
and pine seed. Asia and Europe con-
tribute seed from their peculiar trees,
and from Australia is taken the almost
infuite varieties of gum and acacia.
The work has been already carried on
some years and even now large forests
are the result. Among the gums plant
ed was the regular Australian Robusta.
Whether this variety changed its habits,
growth and appearance by being planted
ia that far off land, or whether the
present Algerian Robusta is hybrid
no one seems to know, but certain it ia
that gum trees are found in Algeria,
robust ia leaf, robust in stem, robust
growth, robust, sturdy and beautiful III
every respect Such is the Algerian
Eucalyptus Robusta.
But few seed have been sent to this
country and only afew trees propagated.
In east Los Angeles there are q few
al
three years old yet are fully so feet
high. Our idea is that they are OF too
large nature to be suitable for mar
row street planting, but are eminently
suited for wide avenues and wind
breaks. The leaf is large, not unlike
that of the rubber tree; the young
leaves are very red, more so than the
eucalyptus rostrata (red gum,) and
hence all during the winter and spring
the trees present a beautiful contrast
in the dark glossy green of the mature
leaf, and the bright red of the young
growth. The bark is close-ftting and
unless its nature changes very material
", as the tree grows old, it will not peel
Off. The wood is very hard and hho
grain remarkably straight; the trunk
and tree grow very upright. The
branches grow nearly horizontally from
the trunk and the tree as whole is
more globular in form than any other
gum tree we have yet noticed. The
limbs keep well within them selves so
that the tree never has scraggy ap.
pearance. AS one might expect, COM
ing from Algeria, the gum is hardy,
more 80 than any yet tested in Los An
geles. Some OF our experienced pro-
psgators have heard of this gum and
questioned whether it WAS different
from the ordinary Australian robusta,
and yet every man who has seen the
tree from Algeria seed has pronounced
it radically different, far more beauti-
full and desirable.
1t will be some years, doubtless, be-
fore this gum becomes known because
of the scarcity of the seed, none being
yet sold by seed dealers in this country,
but the gum hae future before it and
at no distant day we look to see the
majority ofour people plant the Algerian
eucalyptus robusta.-[ Morena Indica-
tor.