The summer heat is approaching, and the dog days will soon be ushered in.
In the countryside, one of the best ways to enjoy the shade in summer is to go to the stone slabs under the big trees in the village to enjoy the shade. The ancients said that it is good to enjoy the shade under the big tree, which is not true at all.
At that time, there were all kinds of trees in front of and behind the houses in rural areas. Under some towering trees, it was very cool, and it was even more comfortable than the air conditioner now, because all the natural wind was blowing.
Every time I see someone enjoying the shade under a big tree, I always think of the neem tree in the village when I was a child, because it carried too many memories of our childhood in the past. At that time, under these neem trees in the village, it was the most lively in summer.
As a fast-growing and easy-to-grow tree, neem is a native tree species, but it was still very popular at the time. It can be seen around many houses, on the edge of crops and at intersections in villages.
But in recent years, the neem tree has become less and less, and many farmers are reluctant to plant it.
The neem tree that accompanied our childhood
For the neem tree, this should be a tree that countless rural children are very impressed by. When I was a child, my house was still an old adobe house, and there were many neem trees behind the house, some were planted artificially, but most of them were naturally grown from fallen fruits.
Among them, a neem tree also grew beside my thatched hut, because no one hated the neem tree at that time. Since it has grown, no one will destroy it. No one manages it, but it still thrives, growing two stories tall in just a few years.
The fast-growing neem was once a popular native tree species, but why is it rare now?
Later, children often played under this neem tree, and it became a secret base for our childhood. At that time, I remembered that my brother also hung two iron chains on the branches that it protruded, and then made a swing, and the children played here after school.
Because the swing was tied to the branches with iron wire, as the neem tree continued to grow, although the place where the neem was bound cracked, but fewer people went to play later, these iron wires were actually overgrown by the branches in a few years. Yes, it also became part of the neem tree, which is amazing.
I remember that my grandmother used to say that when the neem flowers fall, early summer will come. Yes, as the twenty-four flower trade winds, the cold plum is the first, and the neem flower is the last. When the neem flower withers, the summer in the south will come.
In the past, this tree can accompany children all year round and bring different beautiful memories.
The fast-growing neem was once a popular native tree species, but why is it rare now?
Its flowers can be admired in spring, the flowers are small but fragrant. In summer, you can enjoy the shade under the tree, and some girls will pick its fruit to make bracelets, while boys will use it to make slingshot bullets.
Although the neem tree begins to lose its leaves in autumn, it is also a different kind of beauty to swing under the tree. In winter, picking up the neem tree fruit has become a thing that countless children are happy to do.
The ordinary neem tree, but the value is not small
In the countryside, neem used to be a popular native tree species. It is basically unconditional for the soil and environment where it grows. It can also take root and sprout on the roadside, barren hills, or in the rock pile. As long as it takes root, even if the growth environment is harsh, it can still thrive. It takes a few years. Can grow into a towering tree.
At that time, no one would hate the neem tree. When encountering a wild neem tree, it would not be destroyed or cut down, and sometimes the surrounding trees would be cut down, leaving only the neem tree. Some people even deliberately plant this tree in some open spaces in front of and behind their houses.
It is because it is easy to survive, it does not need to be managed after planting, and it is also easy to grow. The wood of the neem tree was widely used at that time.
Although the material of neem is a bit brittle and easy to crack if you hit it, the texture is beautiful and shiny, and the texture of the furniture made of it is beautiful, especially when it is used as a board for wardrobes, boxes, etc., which is good-looking and anti-mosquito.
The fast-growing neem was once a popular native tree species, but why is it rare now?
So at that time, neem trees were often used to make furniture, farm implements, or building materials. In the past, a lot of wood was needed to build a house, and neem trees can be seen everywhere in the countryside. When someone wants to build a house, they will cut down the neem trees around their houses and use them as wood for building houses.
In addition to these uses, the neem tree is also full of treasures. Its roots, fruit trees, bark and leaves can be used to make soil pesticides. In the past, farmers used it to soak in water to make soil pesticides to repel insects. . According to the old man in the village, the bark of the neem tree was used to repel roundworms and hookworms in the past.
Although the fruit of the neem tree is known to be poisonous and cannot be eaten, many children pick up the neem fruit in winter because it is also very effective for frostbite. The winter at that time was very cold, children and adults often had frostbite, but before the conditions were not good and there was no medicine, they would use it to smear.
In fact, neem fruit can also be used to make paints, lubricants and soaps, etc., because of its high oil content.
Why are neem trees increasingly rare these days?
Whether you admit it or not, it is a fact that neem trees have been declining in many places in recent years. Like in the past, many people would deliberately plant it, but now there are very few people who are willing to plant neem. Many neem trees have been cut down.
Although the neem tree has high ornamental value, it can also absorb toxic gases in the air. But the neem tree is a native tree after all, and the yard where it is planted still can't keep up with the sweet-scented osmanthus tree, ginkgo tree, etc., and it is not as delicate as them.
Especially in some places, it is said that the neem tree is one of the "five ghost trees" and should not be planted in the yard or around the house.
And even in the city, few people will plant it as a street tree or a greening tree, probably because it comes from the countryside, which is why the neem tree is rarely seen in the city.
In addition, with the revitalization of the countryside in recent years, many people have built new houses in the countryside, and they will cut down the neem trees around them. Even some neem trees on the roadside were cut down and replaced with camphor, maple and osmanthus trees.
Today, neem trees are far less popular in rural areas than they used to be, and fewer and fewer people love to plant them. Maybe it's because it's easy to get, so it's not taken seriously.