Its Light Green Foliage Is Highly Ornamental,
Mixed With The Dark Shades Of The Ilex In The Deep Bottoms Of The
Gorges; And Wherever A Never-Failing Stream Is Met With The Plane May Be
Expected.
The elm, ash, maple, walnut, mulberry, peach, apricot, apple, pear,
filbert, fig, plum, cherry, orange, lemon, pomegranate, are common, but
as they do not come within the category of trees indigenous to the
natural forests of the island, I shall not include them.
Olive.--The wild olive forms a considerable portion of the low
scrub-woods of the Carpas district, and the young trees, when
transplanted and grafted, become the accepted olives of cultivation.
There is no reason why the wild olive should not be grafted in its
natural position the same as the caroub.
Caroub.--This tree has already been described, but although not valuable
as timber, owing to the short length of its trunk, it should receive the
special attention of the government, as its produce should be extended
to the utmost limit of the capabilities of the island. If the wild trees
were grafted wherever they are met with, whole forests would quickly be
produced with a minimum of labour, and vast tracts of rocky soil,
worthless for other cultivation, would be brought into value, at the
same time that the surface would be covered with the much desired
vegetation.
Tremithia.--The wood of this tree is of no value, but the berries are
used as a substitute for olive-oil; as it grows in large quantities as a
shrub, simply because it is not allowed the chance of arriving at
maturity, it is to be hoped that a few years of forest supervision will
add this shady and highly-ornamental tree to the list of those common to
the island.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 365 of 524
Words from 99361 to 99660
of 143016