The St. Johns herald., 1900-01-27

seed and cultivation. Without at.
 tempting to enumerate the exotic
 plants that have been grown and
 should be grown by those having
 plenty of water and ample time
 and money to pay for cultivation,
 l call your attention to number
 of plants that will thrive with little
 or no care and will survive pro-
 fonged drouth.
 Foo many trees have been plant
 ed in Arizona to live year or two
 and finally die. The trouble in
 many instances has been that we
 have attempted to grow trees from
 cooler and more humid regions or
 have depended too much upon ex-
 otics that nuTserymen have per.
 suaded us to buy at fancy prices. The basis of decorative and land
 scape planting in humid regions is
 the trees and shrubs that are in- digenous to those regions. Im-
 ported plants are used only to se- cure special effects. In Arizona
 we are not going to succeed in
 similar planting until we take ad-
 vantage of q portion at least of the
 eighty four indigenous trees, and
 the large number of decorative
 shrubs and vines that are growing
 wild on our plains and mountains. This paper is much too brief to discuss all tie indigenous plants desirable in decorative planting. For street planting, where there is a fair supply ofwater for irrigation the native Ash is probably the most desirable tree that we have for elevations below 5000 feet. In cooler regions, the native Box FL der, Walnut and Alder can be planted to advantage. The Cot tOnwood and Willow should be us- ed only where there is plenty of water and where extremely rapid growth is desired. In the south ern portion of the Territory the Mesquite, three species of the Pulo Verde, the Iron wood. the Acacia and the Blackberry are particularly desirable in localities where there is little water. Even where there is ample water for irrigation my ob- servation has been that the Mes quite and the Palo Verde invaria- bly excel the Umbrella tree and most imported trees from an effect i've and decorative standpoint at the expiration of five years after planting.
 This certainly has been the ex- perience of the University grounds at Tucson. Contrary to the gener- al opinion, the growth of the Mes quite, Palo Verde and most other indigenous trees of our foothills and plains, is remarkably rapid, particularly when grown for deco rative purposes, where they may be given more water than under conditions. A specimen ot one of our native species of fPalo Verde. namely, tEe Bagote { (Va-go- tay) now growing on the UEiver- sity grounds, has a trunk 10 inches in diameter, and wide spreading top fully twenty four feet in width. This tree grew from seed since '93. In rapidity of growth it has far outstripped the Ash. Locust, Um- breHa, Catalpa and Mesquite grow ing in like situation. The station has on hand a quantity of the seed of this tree which they will will ingly distribute free of charge to those desiring to plant them.
 Our foothills md mountains a. bound in trees and shrubs, many of which grow with great rapidity and are more attractive than many of the things that we get from away, particularly five cannot give them Our Yuccas and Aga res are especially decorative and should receive much more atten- ion than they do. In order to in- l ,roduce the native plants into our gardens, they must usually be grown from seed. It is only in , are instance that the ordinary per- son will succeed in digging a plant n it's wild state and successfully it.
 In addition to our native plants, hose. which grow in and adjacent |; 0 the deserts of the Old World are desirable. There is no