Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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23 The Bermuda Cedar The history of the Bermuda Cedar began when Sir George Somers reported that the Bermuda Islands were clothed in a forest of green cedars. From these cedars in sixteen hundred and ten ships were buiit to carry the stranded people to the mainland. In sixteen hundred and twenty seven a law was passed for the preservation of the rapidly dis- appearing cedar; this law, however, was broken to a great extent. The Bermuda Gazette in seventeen hundred and eighty six mentions the human conditions of the hillsides which had been robbed of their greenery, the cedar. ' Although no one bothered to plant any trees, natural reaffores- tation took place. From this time onwards, that is until they were attacked by the blight, the cedars became more and more abundant. The cedar is grown from a purple berry which takes from three to six months to germinate. The small cedar is very slow growing, until it attains a height of about two feet, from this time until it is about twelve years old its growth is fairly rapid. Cedars have been known to attain to a height of more than seventy feet with a trunk diameter greater than twenty four inches. Such trees as these are believed to be over two hundred years old. The cedar is believed to have come from North America, being carried to Bermuda by birds or by way of the sea. Although it is one of Bermuda ' s endemic plants it is closely related to two other species of cedar which grow along the eastern coast of America and has probably developed from one oi the other. Up until the nineteen hundreds the cedars were reported to have been free from insect pests. But as the colony became more and more a tourist resort different plants were imported to give variety to the landscape. On some of these plants there were eventually,, introduced (scale insects), and the first damage was noted in nineteen hun- dred and thirty when some isolated areas were attacked by scale. In 1935 aphids were supposed to be the cause of some more of the yellowing of the cedars. In 1944 cedar trees began to die at a dis- astrous rate from ' oyster-shell scale in the east end of the islands and from ' cedar ' scale in Paget district. Tlie ' oyster-shell ' scale was soon dealt with but the ' cedar ' scale continued to spread rapidly. Outside help in the form of Biological control was called in after spraying was seen to be hopeless as the wooded areas were so mixed with houses. This help, however, was too late and approximately ninety percent of the Bermuda cedars died, leaving; the islarids in a sl-.ror d of grey. These dead trees did not help the tourist trade which w - now at stake. A very keen reafforestation scheme was started by the Department of Agriculture in 1949, and stepped up in 1952. All doaH

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It ' s a ' Lucky Boy ' for Summer Lucky Boy Shirts are always a boy ' s clioice and a must for motlier too, because of their long wear, easy care qualities White Short sleeved drip-dry Shirts 18 6 White Long sleeved drip-dry Shirts 27 6 White short sleeved broadcloth Shirts 15 . ALSO: Sports Shirts in stripes, checks, plaids, two tones 16 6 and 18 6 Gibbons Company Queen Street Hamilton

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24 trees within fifty feet of the road were removed and those from golf courses were also removed. Other trees of different types were plantea in their stead, the principal one being the casuarina. These trees have now grown fairly large and this summer should see a much greater percentage of greenery than that of eight years ago. The cedars, too, can be seen springing up at various places, while some of the old ones are looking green and seem to be holding their own. This is due to the predations and parasitic insects remaining on thfi cedars and doing a fine job of keeping the scale in check. Who know whether in another twenty to fifty years Bermuda may not again be clothed in forests, this time of mixed trees, but containing a very good percentage of Bermuda cedar? J. BURNETT-HERKES, Form 6. The Mower That Wouldn ' t Go Uphill We had been mowing the lawn for a long time and as a result the fuel tank was nearly empty. With the throttle full open I started to attack a stretch of steep slope, pausing every now and then to have a rest because the motor mowers engine did not power the wheels Suddenly I hit a thick tuft of grass and the engine went off. I tried to start it again but it would not start. The fuel tank had only a bit of fuel in it but even that, I thought, should have been enough. My brother had by now gone to get the fuel. Moving it onto a piece of level ground I tried to start it again. No,. Wait! Yes! I said to myself as the motor reluctantly chugged into life. Soon I had opened the throttle and was on my way up the slope once more. This time I did not even go into a tuft of grass. The engine just stopped of its own accord. It again would not start except on the level. Then, before I had time to push it up the slope, my brother was back with the fuel. Aft-er I had put it in the tank, the engine worked perfectly. It had only stopped because when the mower had been on the slope, the petrol had not been able to flow down the tube to the controller. M. W. MAIR, Form USB A Wonderful Sailing Experience I was preparing my boat to sail during Race Week, for the R. J. Tucker Bowl in the event sponsored by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club in April of 1957. The series was held in The Great Sourd. Thpre were five races and these races were scored on the accumulated points.