The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1909-12-02

NHtN were IlllHb Il contract IOF sUU,UUU
ties to be delivered to the Santa Fe
railroad at a dollar a tie. The san.
dalwood forests have been depleted,
but great many young trees are
springing up, and with them and other
valuable trees, the islands are now
being systematically reforested.
! was struck with the hardihood of
the palms that thrive so beautifully
in the lowlands, and with the ferns,
OF which there are one hundred and
fifty varieties. They grow very lux
uriantly and, apparently, right out Of
the lava. Some varieties grow so
large that their trunks are used for
making fences and corduroy roads in
the marshes. On our trip to the vol
cano, described later, we passed
through nine miles of ferns. The erup.
ton of the volcano In 1870 covered
the whole mountain side to the sea
with lava, yet today the whole over
flowed district is covered with yege-
tatiOn, chiefly ferns. Nature takes
care of her own. These ferns and
the lantana plant like the acacia take
deep. wide root. and, in growing break
up the lava rock and hasten its dis
Indignation into soil
One of the professors of the Plant.
ers' Experimental Station, which is
maintained by the planters at cost
Of 100000 a year sought to reclaim
one mountain side OF lava and planted
a lot of lantana It grew so thickly
that a cat could not penetrate It and
no pillow could be used. Having over
done the job, the professor then Sc
cured an insect blight that is fond
of the lantana and turned it loose on
the mountain. When ! saw the Ian.
tana patch the leaves had turned
white and the roots were dying. Upon
inquiry of the guide as to what would
prevent the parasite from attacking and
destroying other vegetation when the
lantana should be consumed, he told
me that il would eat nothing but Ian
tana. and In veriiication of that state.
mcnt pointed to some volunteer yari.
cites of other plants that were grow.
ing green among the lantana bushes
"But," he said, rather than take
any chances with the appetite of the
insect, We will. as soon as the Ian.
tana is all killed. touch n match to
the mountain side and burn up Ian
tana. blight and all" a poor brand
Of justice to the insect | thought, but
they need more land and fewer pests
in Hawaii The coffee trees Of the
Island, with their precious red Gran.
berry.likc pods, which | saw being
gathered and dried were being at
tackled and destroyed by parasite.
But the planters found way They
made hoods or sacks of cheese cloth
and covered over the coffee plant
They then put in the sack an import.
ed lady bug and tied the sack around
the trunk of the tree so the bug could
not get out and in day or two every
parasite was destroyed and the sack
removed So It will be seen that they
are up to date In Hawaii and, while
nature helps them, they also help
themselves. Another example Of how
old Mother nature takes care Of her
own IS shown in the kohala tree which
grows in the lava and with its spear.
like leaves furnishes material for the
native hat AS 1t cannot take deep
root in the lava and yet grows tall, |
nature, to prevent its topping over |
with the first high wind. has provided 7.
Il with roots which extend from the /
middle OF its trunk in all directions |
TO the ground, after the fashion Of the |
braces which the farmer puts on his |
fence posts in rocky ground The ma
testic banyan tree goes even further /
In this direction II starts with one .
trunk, but when its long heavy limbs |
begin to grow horizontally, shoots |
start downward from the limbs, grow |
into the ground. take root and eventu. |
ally form other trunks. These trees |
are thus enabled to attain prodigious |
size and to cover much ground At |
the beautiful home of Mr. Francis NJ |
Hatch, who was Minister Of Foreign .
Affairs of the Provisional Government |
and later of the Republic of Hawaii,
IUtIt EIb"b but NlllNll ihH IL ubE'h
trunks and shades more than an acre
OF ground. After a dinner at which
Mr.. Hatch entertained some of u.s. we
had the pleasure of being RECALLED with
coffee under this tree. Aside from
the interest lent TO the tree by the his
torical events that took place there.
under, which grew out of the several
bloodless revolutions oil the islands
1t had a reverental charm for me be.
cause It was the banyan tree under
which Robert Louis Stevenson wrote
some of his masterpieces before far-off
Samoa claimed his frail body as her
own.
Among the more numerous plants of
the islands that grow Wild, are the
breadfruit, cocoanut, banana, yam,
taro. ii. sugar cane, pineapple, noun.
tain apple, vanilla bean, mulberry
guava, orange. lime, mango, hala, hau,
milo, and kamanl. These yielded