The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-01-28
TIFF EUcAzYprUs THEE.
| It Has Been GOdsend to California How it IS Grown and What 1t is Good

For.
 From the Los Angeles Times.l | There have of late been many refer
 ences to the eucalyptus tree in eastern
 and American journals, but while It's
 growth in Algeria and in the Roman
 Campagna, as well as in it's native
 country, Australia, have been duly de-
 scribed, there has been but slight ref r erence to the important part which
 this tree plays in the agricultural econ
 omy of California.
 The euoalyptus--chiefly the eucalyp-
 tus globulus or blue gum, which is the
 only variety that has yet been planted here on a large scale--has been set out l so widely during the past twenty years l that it has come to be regarded as a l distinctively California tree, and thou sands of our younger citizens are igno- ! rant of it's trans-Pacific origin, It is l seen everywhere throughout the state, by roadsides, around orchards and gar
 dens, and in groves, except in the cold
 CT sections of northern California and in the mountain regions, where the
 winters are too cold, for in spite of it's
 remarkably robust growth, the euca-
 lyptus. when young, is very suscepti-
 ble to frost, even more so than the or
 ange. For this reason its introduction
 has not been attended with success in
 Arizona, in which territory, owing to
 the distance from the ocean, there are sometimes heavy frosts in winter. All
 through central and southern Califor-
 mia, however. the eucalyptus is omni-
 present. In the timberless regions
 which comprise ninety per cent. of the
 valleys, the talA, struggling form of this
 tree, like an overgrown, lanky youth, is
 the most prominent feature in the land
 scape. That, together with the all-per-
 vading odor of it's leaves, fingers in the
 mind of the tourist after other recol- lections of California have died out
 The eucalyptus has been godsend to
 California, It is difficult to say what
 other tree could have been found to re-
 place it. Like magic, within a short
 year, it has changed the character of many a southern California landscape from duh, monotonous, treeless plain, to a well-wooded stretch of country. To the land boomer also It's wonderful ly rapid growth has brought many eX- tra dollars. lending the air of an old settled community to tract that was a sage-brush desert twelve months be- fore. Within g. year from the tiny seed the tree will under favorable circum- stances, reach a height of from ten to twelve feet, and fifty feet in three years. In the Australian forests it ire quently attains height of three hun dred feet or more. None are yet so large in California, because they are not old enough, but trees half that height are not uncommon.
 There are over hundred varieties of eucalyptus, but, as stated, the blue gum is the only one that has yet been cultivated to any extent in California. It is the least esteemed of the various l gums in Australia, being chiefly used | for planting around cesspools, It's roots l readily absorbing moisture. It's rapid 1 growth and the ease of its cultivation | led to its wide adoption here. During | the past two or three years some at- tention has been paid to the red gum, which has been found to grow equally | fast and is a more graceful tree. Ih | Australia some varieties are found to | SuGGGGu DtSl III IllOlSlt OllGlS III uIy ground Some have wood which resists | the teredo, and is used for piles, some | yield an extra large amount of oil, and are specially used for that purpose, While the blue gum Is by no means q handsome tree, being only tolerated as a relief to the monotony of treeless towns, other varieties are worthy of a place on any lawn. There is one known as the eucalyptus flcifolia, which makes a distinct forest belt in the coast re- zion of western Australia. This is most gorgeous tree. It is said that hardly anything more resplendent can be imagined than forests of this tree, with its brilliant trusses of red flowers. l
 The numerous purposes to which the can be put make it almost as valuable toCalifornia as the bamboo is to Japan and China. In the valleys 1t is extensively planted for fuel. The raising of the tree for this purpose has 1 been found very profitable, besides giv- Ing little trouble. The seed should be planted in boxes, and the trees set out when a few inches high. They are set close together, say about half rod apart For the first year they need IT, 'igation and some cultivation. After hat the owner has absolutely nothing 70 do but to hire men to cut them off lbout two feet from the ground, at in- ervals of from three to five years. The wood Is then cut into cordwood, and las been selling readily in this section turing the past five years at from six o nine dollars a cord. A conservative ,stimate of the net annual profit per lcre from the time of planting of a gum ;rove is fifty dollars Much larger re- urns have been realized. The oldest rees around Los Angeles were planted ighteen years ago. Plenty of them would make two cords of wood to the rec. This would make one acre, left lntrimmed for eighteen years, worth en thousand dollars, for one cutting of he wood. Plenty of land suitable for rum groves can be bought in this sec ion at fifty dollars an acre; but then most people are orange crazy here bouts.
 After the tree is cut down close to the round it shoots out again, within a ew weeks, in remarkably vigorous | f hammer A peculiarity of the tree is