ES

..

On the question proposed for discussion to the
Botanical Congress at St. Petersburg

what trees are best adapted for cultivation
in the South of Russia

by

Andrew Murray F.L.S.

The subject proposed for consideration here resolves itself,
as it appears to me, not so much into what trees may be found
to suit the condition of the South of Russia, as what is to be
done to alter these conditions so as to produce a climate more
suitable to trees" generally.

I do not believe that it is possible to find any tree suited
to the present conditions of that country, in other words,
that will bear being burned up in the summer without a drop
of water for months at a time, and burned up by the cold in
winter for a similar period : and what makes it more hopeless
is that the very conditions which prevent them growing are
perpetuated by their absence.

It is not any peculiarity in the soil which is hostile to their
growth. — The. wide plains covered with tall weeds, which
constitute what is properly called the steppes, have a rich
thick black soil consisting mainly of humus or vegetable
mould combined with a^ij^^;ajjnelre — and as might be ex-

1

pected this soil is very fertile , especially one kind of it,
which is well known under the name of tschernosom and is
productive in the highest degree. — So far as regards the
soil therefore the steppes are everything that could be desired.
If the climate would give the soil the smallest chance, the
steppes would grow crops an(J trees as well as any country on
the face of the Earth.

The less fertile plains classed by professor Karl Koch un-
der the name of pampas are also perfectly productive when
supplied with water. — Nothing in their soil is opposed to the
growth of forest trees.

After the steppes and pampas the only remaining specially
distinctive soil is that of the salt deserts — but it is now per-
fectly well known that by the aid of fresh and running water
even the most strongly impregnated salt soils can be made to
grow plants as well as any other soil. — It has been done on
a considerable scale in the Salt-lake district of Northwest Ame-
rica, and there is no reason to doubt that similar means would
produce like results in the South of Russia.

The great difficulty in the way .of covering these plains
with woods and crops is the want of water, and at present
there seems no other source from which to procure water but
the rivers which pass thro' the country. — There seems to be
no reservoir in the underlying strata from which it could be
procured by boring — at least, according to one present infor-
mation, the chances are against this, altho' it may well be
worth while to determine how far this is the case by actual
experiment. — In some districts a year or more occasionally
passes without a shower of rain refreching the earth, and
very generally not a drop falls in the whole country from the
end of May to the middle of September. It rains no doubt in
spring and autumn, and snows in winter, but the country is
so uniformely level, and what is of more importance the sub-
jacent strata are so uniformely level, never having been dis-

turbed by geological causes, that tbere are no means by wbicb
the water which falls at these seasons can be accumulated and
stored up in subterranean reservoirs or fissures — (the exi-
stence of springs depending on the inclination of strata and
dislocation of beds). — The water is thus simply absorbed of
the soil and when the warm season comes is gradually evapo-
rated. — Hence arises of the extreme heat and cold which
characterise the district in summer and winter. — No plant
which cannot live like bulbs under ground can survive these
extremes of temperature. — All leaves and branches and
stems are every year cut down. Consequently trees cannot be
expected to grow.

There are some countries so situated in relation to neigh-
houring mountains that it may be doubtful whether rain could
ever be attracted to them, as in the dry regions of Thibet, but
there is no such physical disability in the South of Russia.
With such large masses of water as the Black sea and the Cas-
pian in its immediate vicinity and no great mountains interve-
ning, there is no reason why the regions which are now a waste
for some months in the year should not be a garden; — were
the ground even partially clothed with timber the whole would
be changed. — There is no reservoir of moisture equal to a
forest. — It is a sponge which soaks up an enormous quantity
of water to render it back in perennial springs and streams. — •
Moreover forests not only receive rain and retain it when it
falls, but they attract it. — I read that already a few trees plan-
ted by the engineers employed in the excavation and construc-
tion of the, Suez Canal near their temporary residences, have
had the effect of attracting clouds and that the rare event of
rain falling in the land of Egypt has already taken place in
their vicinity. To do the same thing in the South of Russia is
obviously (as the very question proposed implies) the true means
of utilizing, fertilizing and rendering productive the vast step-
pes in question, and it must be done in the same way. The

starting point must be the locality where water already exists
— in other words the banks of the rivers. By planting first in
their neighbourhood, and by using the aid of irrigation whe-
rever possible, a gradual advance may be made on the open
plain. The process will be long and slow, especially at first, and
will require thatunitedactionandconlinuous perseverance which
can only be obtained from governmental superintendence. In-
dividuals may deal with works that can be compassed in the
lifetime of a man, but governments or companies^can alone
look for success in works, which may extend over centuries.
One word as to the kinds of trees to be planted. I have a
strong conviction that in general no kinds of trees are so well
adapted for a country as those, which naturally grow in it or
in its neighbourhood already. All therefore that grow naturally
in the neighbouring regions would probably grow well in the
steppes if supplied with water. The Pinus silveslris Jn fact al-
ready grows (no doubt in a dwarf and shrub-like form) but still
grows in the steppe region of the middle Don. If under its pre-
sent disadvantageous circumstances it can subsist at all, it is. a
great argument that if it were placed in more favourable con-
ditions it would prosper. The Pinus Pallasiana of the Crimea
would also doubtless do well. I have heard Pinus Pinaster (ma-
ritiriia) suggested, but neither the soil nor the conditions seem
suited to it. The elm, birch, oak, beech, lime and chestnuts
w-ould no doubt thrive, — once supply the soil with water and
moderate the severity of the climate by.the multiplication of trees,
and almost any thing will grow. The soil is fertile enough to
grow anything, but at the commencement the experiment
schould be made with the very commonest, hardiest and chea-
pest species that can be got — that, I imagine, is Pinus sylves-
tris. To attempt to introduce rare species from other countries
is obviously premature.

Oaylord Bros.

Makers

Syracuse, N. Y,
PAT. JAN. 21, 1908

. ..wnat trqes are oest
adapted for cultivetioi
in the south of Russia

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