THE RAIN TREE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIX, Issue 209, 2 September 1884, Page 4

THE RAIN TREE.

"Recently the Land and Water published a notice respecting the wonderful tree known ms the "'Rain Tree," which it is stated in the notice, grows in South America, and is so remarkable thufc traveller?, when traversing an arid and desolate tract of country, have been struck with the strange contrast of seeing or. one hand a barren desert and on the other a rich and luxuriant vegetation. The tree, this notice states, grows to the height of 60ft., with a di>» meter of 3ft. at its base, and it possesses the power of attracting, absorbing, and condensing the humidilv of the atmosphere so strongly that water is always to be seen dripping from its trunk in such quantity as to convert the surrounding soil into a veritable marsh. The attention of the lTon J. P. Abbott, Minister of Mines New South Wales, was drawn to this notice, and he called for a report on the subject from the Inspector of Forests, Mr J. Duff, who has written the following : — "Forest Conservancy I'-aiich, Department of Mines, Sydney, l.'i'h . l unc, 1884.— Sir — In accordance wilh )our instruction or. JU r God hard 's iiivinn., mnnhorod as per margin, I hay« the honor to inlorm you that j have obtained the following information respecting the habits and uses of l.l io rain tree or quango, Albizza saman (F. Yon Mueller), or Pithecolabium saman of Betham : — ■ Baron Mueller slafe^ io his work on "Extra Tropical Plants,' published in 1881, that < the mm tree,' or quango, is a lofty tree, particularly valuable for wet, saline country, and it extends from Mexico to Brazil and Pern. It attains a height of 70ft, (pink 6ff in diameter, the colossal branches expanding 130 ft, an<! it is of quick growth, in outline not unlike an oak. It thrives best where, the rainfall fluctuates between 30 and 60 inches a year — one of the lic-c trcc.s in mild climes for roadside shade lines. The wood i* hard an<l omit' ; ;' !■•■■!■ !•-- -„■•-,;-.< -_-;:i;- ..'■ >'• i' '- • ■ : '- ;■••..• !•■!-. •' -i !i <• •••. ';-....• . v ■•■■ i. v, :.;..-• •,..! ■i- i: i- !'" ■•'-' i - ' ;-';- ; !-.--U ii..'SA:..lrr. •AllA^-j.^ thoin with reiish.' "Mi- John Smith, A.L.S., exouratorof the Royal Botanic ( Jardeos, Kow, London, in his 'Dictionary of Economic Plants ' published in 1882. states that the ' Zamang is the Spanish name of this tree, °and that it it a native of A r cnczuGla.' JIo quotes llumbolt's desciption of the tree, which is as follows : — 'We saw in ihe evening at a league distant an object which appeared in the horizon like a round hillock covered with trees. 'Jfcwas neither a hill nor a group of trees close to one another, but one single tree — the famous ' Zamang-del-Gauyrc,' remarkable for the enormous

extent of its brauches, which form a hemisphere head 576 ft in circumference, the diameter of the stem being 9ft near the ground. It belongs to the mimosa section of the order, Leguminosa:, and is a species of the genus Pi'hcolabium (P. Saman). Heeds taken from the tree were raise] in the Botanic Gardens, Trinadid, in 1820 It appears to be fast growing when young, a tree 40 years old measuring 16ft in circumference uear the ground. It has thick, ilattish, curved pod?, about Sin. in length and lin. in width, containing a sweetish pulp. They are in common use for feeding cattle, and for that purpose the tree is now cultivated in different countries. It is also known as the rain tree.' I may further add that a few years ago a number of seedling plants of the rain treee were received in the Sydney Botanic Gardens from the Botanic Gardens, Ceylon, on receipt of which they were place! in a bush-house where they grew well during summer months ; but the whole of fie plants perished i i the winter, which would indicate that the climate of Sydney is not sufficientiy warm for the cultivation of this tree. The rain tree requires a warm moist climate near the sea ; and it might succeed in some of the Northern Coast districts, but it is very doubtful if it would grow in the interior, or in districts subject to droughts and frosts : tho latter being the localities "whsre such a tree would be most required for shade and stock feed. The statement made by travellers in South America in Land and Water attached hereto that t water is constantly dripping from the trunk of the tree in such quantities as to convert the soil into a veritable marsh,' is, I think, exaggerated, and requires further reliable confirmation. Steps should be taken to ascertain if the rain tree can be procured in the colonies, and if so, to procure plants and test its suitability for variou3 districts in New South Wales ?— I hare, &c, John Duff." Mr Abbott has directed that steps be taken to procure some of the trees, with a view to their introduction into the c ;lony of New South Wales.