Arizona republican., 1911-01-15
FARMERS HEAR TALK
ON EUCALYPTUS TREES
WAY TO AVOID FENCE POST
FAMINE POINTED OUT.
California Expert Tells What Vari-
eties Are Best Adapted to
This Climate.

\ number Of farmers were at the
board of trade yesterday afternoon to
hear w. H. Reed, formerly superin-
tcndcnt of the Tonic national forest
and now in the employ of a big Cal
ifornia eucalyptus timber company
talk about the possibilities of euca-
lyptus growing in the Salt River val
ley They were strongly advised To
plan; eucalyptus of either the tereti-
cornis or rostrata variety along their
bitches as q measure of protection
against a famine in fence posts
In the opinion of Mr. Reed, il will
not be long before fence posts are
scarce at any price. Most of the
posts used today are Of cottonwood.
which does not last long, and many
of them are extremely unsightly. Mr.
Reed says that eucalyptus wood is
highly resistant to moisture and in
sects and posts cut from eucalypts
are straight and round. In every
way he finds it advisable to plant
eucalypts in place of the cottonwoods
and along bitches where no trees at
all now grow.
Mr.. Reed had number Of pieces
of eucalyptus wood all extremely
hard and some of them highly pol
ished. He had one post of the size
commonly used for fencing.
Facts and figures galore were quot
ed. Mr.. Reed told of one grove of
quarter of an acre, covered with
6i2 year old eucalypts. from which
5120 posts were cut. Posts can be
cut from trees three years old but
they do not last as long as the more
mature wood.
The more the farms of the valley
are subdivided. predicted Mr. Reed.
the greater will be the demand for
fence posts. And there is nothing
that adds more TO the appearance of
a farm than straight posts. lie had
heard Of rostrata posts in Australia
that had been standing forty or fifty
years and were apparently little af-
fcctcd
Mr.. Reed did not advise the farm
ers to plant blue gums. as the posts
are not durable and the trees do not
thrive in warm climate. The ros-
trata and tcreticornis have more to
fear from cold but no amount Of heat
seems to affect them
The rostrata, says Mr. Reed, has
been pronounced by the United States
forestry service to be useful for more
purposes than any other tree There
IS no part of the tree which cannot
be utilized in some way
Several trees of the rostrata variety !
growing in the Salt River valley |
were mentioned by Mr. Reed. He said. !
however, that he had seen no large 1
blue gums in this section and did not I
believe there We're any more than two |
or three years old They are rapid /
growers at first but do not thrive !
nearly 50 wei in this climate as do !
the red gums.
Mr.. Reed warned his hearers !
against planting large seedlings. The |
ordinary person is ant to think that /
when he is getting large trees he is |
getting good stock but such is not /
the case with the rostrata and ter |
eticornis both of which are tap root /
trees. If they remain too long in the /
boxes their roots often become so I
cramped that they never recover and |
the tree dies or fails to make a sat I
isfactory growth. Many Salt River /
valley farmers. he said, had undoubt |
eddy planted the wrong kind of nur-
sery stock and decided that eucalypts
would not grow here
In regard To irrigation of euca-
lyptus groves, Mr.. Reed advised deep
burrows instead Of surface flooding.
Water on the surface alone tends To
develop the surface roots and in the
case of tap root trees, which send |
out few laterals. this is not desirable. n
Where water is within fifteen or
twenty feet of the surface. irrigation /
is not required after the trees get
4 good start
Numerous questions were asked Il
Mr.. Reed concerning methods of
and caring for eucalypts.
When the meeting broke up more
than one farmer was heard To say
that he would lose no time i'm plant
ing eucalyptus trees on his farm.
-O