Graham guardian., 1907-01-25

The numerous fine sp ecimens o
the native ash on the universit,
grounds are among the handso mes
of our deciduous trees.
Extremely droughtresi "a n
species: The honey locust, mes
quite, bagote, paloverde and Mex
can elder, as well as the soap6erry
sorewbean and ironwood, will dc
fairly we'll when permanently
rooted with only an occasional IT
rigation. Such trees as these will
be found very desirable for plant
ing about school grounds anC
other locations where little or nj
attention may be given them dur
ing a considerable portion of thu
year.
Other species for ornamental
planting; The principal object Of
the writer in this article, however
10 to call attention to certain very
desirable evergreen species fol-
park and home planting, which as
yet are but little known to the
public, Among these are the true
cedars from the Orient, the Monte
rey and Arizona expresses, the
Chinese arbor vitae, and two
species of resistant Eucalypts. AS
concerns adaptability, it will be
noticed that the expresses are ma,
tives of Arizona and. California
while the cedars and the Eucalypts
mentioned are indigenous to mild
semi,arid regions very similar to
our own. With one exception
viz: the cedar of Lebanon which
has not been gwen trial as yet
representative of all these species
are growing successfully on the
university grounds or in Tucson,
where they appear to be equally
resistant to our hot, dry summers
and occasional frosty winter nights
They should prove, therefore, val,
liable acquisitions to our growing
| list Of ornamentals.
The true cedars: The Himalay
an or Indian cedar is in many re
spects the most desirable of this
group. Two of these trees planted
about twelve years ago are grow
ing on the university grounds, the
larger of which under the more
favorable conditions is eight inches
in diamerter at the base and about
twenty-five feet in height These
trees may be recognized by their
bluish-green faliage and graceful
slightly pendulous, horizontal
branches which are given off loose
ly from a straight trunk so as to
form a symmetrical, tapering, cone
like head. Besides being the
handsomest of the cedars, the In.
dian cedar is said 10 be the most
rapid grower. 1t has been planted
extensively in southern Europe
and within recent years in Cali
fornia. The renowned cedar Of
Lebanon, associated with man
since his early history, and long
celebrated for its tenure of life
and magnificent, far-reaching, fiat
topped crowns, differs from the
Indian cedar principally IN having
denser, dark green foliage and
shorter, more rigid branches. So
far as results IN California show, IT
appears to be equally well adapted
to southwestern conditions. Cedrus
atlantica from the arid mountain
regions of north Africa is another
closely related species and very
desirable variety for planting. A
correspondent writes from Cali.
fornia that all these trees thrive
equally well there and that there
is quite an active demand for them,
particularly the Indian cedar and
cedrus atlantica which are the
handsomer varieties.
The Monterey cypress: Anoth-
or valuable ornamental tree for
southern Arizona is the Monterey
cypress from California. In its
native habitat it is limited to a
dry, rocky area about two hundred
yards wide and few miles in
length along the Pacific coast south
of the bay of Monterey where it
grows about fifty feet high and
forms in age u broad fat.topped
crown resent bling a cedar of Leb
anon. With cultivation it becomes
a beautiful, symmetrical, rapid
growing evergreen. 1t is much
planted in California, being used
especially for ornamental hedges,
and is also popular in southern
Europe, Australia and parts Of
South America. The Monterey
cypress has been planted but itttls
in Arizona as yet, since its fitness
for our climatic conditions are not
generally known. Handsome spec
linens Of it, twenty to twenty-five
feet high eight years after plant
ing, are growing at Stafford, Ari.
zona, where it has been success
fully introduced by Mr.. Il. A.
Smith, Sr. Mr.. Smith considers
this the hardest and most desira-
bic evergreen for the upper ella
country.