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UC-NRLF 


B    3    flSM 


LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


GIFT    OF 


Class 


.  • 
•*»  '-      '  '     ' 


ADDITIONAL  FACTS 


IN  FOR  M  ATIO  N 


THE  CAT  ALP  A  TREE. 


CATALPA  Li  o,  ^  w. , .  u-.i  IDES 


AND 


ITS   VAR1KTY?   SPEC1OSA 


K.    K.     B  A  K  N i  K  V . 


• 


DAVTON  Joi'UNAt  BOOK  ASK  JOB  PIMA-IIXU 
1879. 


ADDITIONAL  FACTS 


AND 


USTFORMATIO 


IN    RELATION    IT 


THE  CATALPA  TREE 


CA  TAIL  PA    Bl&NONIOIDES 


ITS   VARIETY'^   SPECIOSA 


R  TS^  E  Y 

\\ 


DAYTON.    OKI:*. 


',.  '     r  *  • 

I  •*  •**  •*•*** 


THE  CATALPA  TREE. 


A  PAPER  READ  BEFORE 

THE  NATIONAL  AGRICULTURAL  CONGRESS, 

At  New   Haven,    Conn,,   August  ?!?th    187$, 

AND    BEFORE 

THE   OHIO    HORTICULTURAL   SOCIETY, 

At   Dayton     0,    December  6',    J87S, 
By   E.   E.   BARNEY,  of  Dayton,  Ohio. 


INTRODUCTION. 

When  first  informed  that  the  catalpa,  a  tree  I  had  been  fa- 
miliar with  on  our  streets  for  more  than  thirty  years,  possess- 
ed the  power  to  resist  decay  to  a  wonderful  degree,  I  was  so 
impressed  with  its  great  economic  value  that  I  deemed  it  very 
important  that  a  knowledge  of  its  very  valuable  properties 
should  become  widely  extended.  1  have  devoted  what  time  J 
could  command  from  the  supervision  of  a  large  manufactur- 
ing business,  for  the  last  eight  years,  to  gathering  and  pub- 
lishing, from  time  to  time,  such  facts  and  information  as  1 
have  been  able  to  obtain  on  this  subject. 

A  year  ago,  at  the  request  of  the  president  of  a  leading  rail- 
road, I  published  these  tacts  and  information  in  pamphlet 
form.  Since  then  1  have  been  greatly  encouraged  and  aided 
in  its  general  circulation  by  Dr.  Jno.  A.  Warder,  President  of 
the  Ohio  Horticultural  Society  and  of  the  American  Forestry 
Association,  and  Prof.  0.  S.  Sargent,  Director  of  the  Botanic- 
Garden  and  Arnold  Arboretum  of  Harvard  University,  and 
many  others.  Most  efficient  aid  has  been  rendered  also  by 

236842 


The  American  Agriculturist,  The  Monthly  Garden  and  Horticulturist, 
The  Cultivator  and  Country  Gentleman,  The  Prairie  Farmer,  The 
Scientific  American,  The  Railway  Age,  The  National  Car  Builder, 
The  Ohio  Farmer,  and  The  New  York  Tribune.  Through  the 
notices  made  of  the  pamphlet,  and  the  artieles  on  eatalpa 
published  in  these  periodicals,  attention  has  been  awakened 
on  this  subject  to  such  an  extent  that  I  have  received  letters 
of  inquiry  from  every  State  and  Territory  in  the  Union, 
amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  thousands;  also  from  England, 
South  Australia,  and  New  Zealand.  As  a  result,  if  seed  can 
be  obtained,  enough  will  be  planted  the  coming  Spring  to  pro- 
duce millions  of  eatalpa  trees.  During  the  last  two  or  three 
years  several  persons  have  been  engaged  in  the  benevolent  act 
of  distributing  packages  of  eatalpa  seed  to  thousands  of  per- 
sons in  the  West,  notably,  Suel  Foster,  of  Muscatine,  Iowa; 
J.  F.  Tallent,  Burlington,  Iowa;  and  Horace  J.  Smith,  Georges 
Hill,  Philadelphia.  Many  others  have  been  engaged  in  the 
same  kindly  work,  but  I  have  not  their  names. 

The  subject  has  been  deemed  of  sufficient  importance  to 
justify  the  occupying  of  your  attention  with  a  brief  statement 
of  some  of  the  facts  that  have  been  gathered  in  relation  to 
eatalpa. 

THE  SI/K  TO  WHICH  IT  ATTAINS. 

No  work  that  I  have  examined  on  botany  or  forestry  begins 
to  do  justice  to  the  eatalpa  in  this  regard.  One  and  a  half 
and  two  feet  is  the  largest  diameter  given  in  am^  of  the  books 
I  have  seen.  C.  H.  Miller,  Landscape  Gardener  of  Fairmount 
Park,  Philadelphia,  writes:  " There  is  a  fine  grove  of  common 
eatalpa  in  the  park,  some  of  them  very  large,  one  measuring 
thirteen  feet  in  circumference."  Arthur  Bryant,  of  Prince- 
ton, 111.,  has  in  his  grounds  a  eatalpa  of  the  Speciosa  variety, 
raised  from  the  seed  in  1839,  that  measures,  stump  high,  three 
feet  in  diameter.  J.  M.  Bucklin  reports  eatalpa  trees  in  South- 
eastern Missouri,  in  1866,  three  and  four  feet  in  diameter,  and 
fifty  feet  to  a  limb,  and  in  a  letter  received  last  week  I  am  in- 
formed that  plenty  eatalpa  trees  of  that  size  are  there  to-day. 
In  the  Geological  Survey  of  Indiana,  1873,  Prof.  John  Collet  re- 
ports eatalpa  trees  three,  four,  and  four  and  a  half  feet  in 
diameter.  Recently,  a  man  writes  me  from  Southern  Illinois 
that  he  had  sawed  up  eatalpa  trees  three  freot  in  diameter, 
and  fifty  feet  to  a  limb.  He  also  sent  me  eatalpa  railroad  ties, 
among  them  a  section  of  a  limb  8  feet  long  and  12-J  inches  in 
diameter  at  the  small  end,  cut  from  the  tree  forty-five  feet 
from  the  stump.  So  that  in  Pennsylvana,  Indiana,  Illinois, 
and  Missouri  the  eatalpa  attains  to  the  diameter  of  three, 
four,  and  four  and  a  half  feet,  instead  of  one  and  a  half  and 
two  feet  as  given  in  the  books. 


ITS  DURABILITY. 

\Vm.  K.  Arthur,  formerly  Sup't  Illinois  Central  Railroad, 
informed  me  that  he  had  visited  with  a  friend  the  old  home- 
stead, and  took  up  a  catalpa  gate-post  his  friend  had  assisted 
his  father  to  set  forty-six  years  before.  They  found  it  as  sound 
as  the  day  it  was  set.  no  signs  of  decay  whatever.  Judge 
rpshcr.  formerly  of  Indiana,  informed  me  that  old  citizens  of 
Vineeimes  had  stated  to  him  that  the  old  stockade,  built  by 
the  first  French  settlers  of  that  place,  was  largely  from  catalpa 
trees,  which  grow  native  in  the  forests  there,  and  that  when 
removed  from  the  ground  nearly  one  hundred  years  after  they 
had  been  set,  were  perfectly  sound,  and  gave  no  indications  of 
decay.  (.'.  M.  Allen,  of  Vincennes,  writes:  "During  the  last 
thirty  years  I  have  seen  much  of  catalpa,  in  fence-posts  and 
timber  of  buildings  in  contact  with  the  ground,  and  esteem  it 
the  most  durable  of  all  timber;  in  fact  it  may  be  regarded  as 
imperishable  under  or  lying  on  the  ground."  Another  gen- 
tleman of  the  same  place  says  he  has  fence-posts  of  twenty- 
two  years  standing,  as  firm  and  sound,  apparently,  as  the  day 
they  were  put  in  the  ground.  Catalpa  posts  set  by  General 
Harrison  about  the  Governor's  house,  in  1808,  Mr.  Pidgeon 
says,  were  taken  up  a  few  years  ago,  and  being  sound  were  re- 
set in  another  place,  The'early  settlers  of  Knox  County,  Ind., 
found  a  catalpa  log  that  had  fallen  across  a  stream,  and  used 
us  a.  foot-bridge  until  it  was  flattened  on  top  by  the  pressure 
of  the  feet.  An  old  Indian,  in  answer  to  the  question,  how 
long  the  log  had  been  there,  replied,  "My  father's  father  cross- 
ed on  that  log,'"  thus  making  it  a  hundred  years  old.  In 
Southern  Illinois  was  another  catalpa  tree  fallen  across  a 
stream,  still  sound.  A  man,  now  living,  says  thai  forty  years 
ago  an  old  man  told  him  that  he  crossed  on  that  log  when  a 
boy.  making  it  nearly  or  quite  one  hundred  years  old.  This 
log  was  sawed  into  boards,  and  one  of  them,  perfectly  sound, 
was  exhibited  at  the  Centennial  by  Prof.  Burrill,  of  the  Illi- 
nois Industrial  l:niversity.  Large  catalpa  trees,  back  of  New 
Madrid,  on  the  Mississippi  River,  in  South-eastern  Missouri, 
killed  by  the  eruptions  in  1811,  I  am  informed  in  a  letter  re- 
ceived August  10th,  from  a  gentleman  living  there,  are  still 
standing,  perfeetly  sound,  after  (>7  years,  and  to  use  his  ex- 
pression, plenty  of  them.  One  of  these  was  recently  cut  down, 
and  seven  feet  of  the  but  and  seven  feet  of  the  top  sent  to  me. 
The  top,  though  worn  to  a  point  by  the  action  of  the  wind 
and  rain  is  perfectly  sound.  The  but,  though  showing  on  the 
outside  the  result  of  long  exposure,  is  as  sound  as  it  was  sixty- 
nine  years  ago  when  killed  by  the  eruption.  At  Poplar  Bluffs, 
Henly,  the  ferryman,  had  a  canoe  made  of  catalpa,  three  feet 


across  the  gunwales,  perfectly  sound,  after  constant  use  twelve 
years. 

Capt.  Kurtz  knows  of  catalpa  trees  killed  by  the  ice  on  the 
bottoms  of  the  Wabash  River,  in  the  January  flood  of  1828,  still 
standing,  and  sound  after  fifty  years.  Prof.  John  Collet  says, 
athis  timber  is  universally  accredited  with  wonderful  power 
to  resist  decay  and  time,  and  that  rails  made  by  Col.  Decker 
in  the  year  1800,  were  in  use  forty-eight  years  afterwards,  and 
that  after  diligent  inquiry  among  those  familiar  with  catalpa 
timber  for  a  great  number  of  years,  I  could  rind  no  one  willing 
to  say  it  is  liable  to  rot."  Fifteen  years  ago,  W.  F.  Howell,  of 
this  vicinity,  saw,  in  the  Rural  New  Yorker,  a  statement  that 
catalpa  was  the  most  durable  wood  known,  and  especially 
valuable,  arid  excelling  black  locusts,  red  cedar  and  mulberry, 
in  that  it  had  no  sap  wood,  so  that  trees  of  three  or -four  yours 
growth  would  not  rot  when  set  in  the  ground  for  fence  stakes, 
hop  or  bean  poles.  The  above  named  trees  have  a  larger  pro- 
portion of  sap  wood  while  young,  and  therefore  are  of  far  less 
value  while  young.  Mr.  Howell  says  he  has  verified  this  state- 
ment most  fully,  on  his  farm  near  the  Soldiers  Home,  on  which 
a  large  number  of  catalpa  trees  are  growing. 

Small  catalpa  limbs  and  sprouts  of  two  years'  growth,  placed 
in  the  ground  to  support  peas  and  vines,  and  used  for  that 
purpose  year  after  year,  show  no  signs  of  decay. 

Mr.  J.  P.  Tallent,  of  Burlington,  Iowa,  writes  that  some 
years  ago  he  observed  that  the  trunks  of  two  cutalpa  trees 
which  had  stood  in  the  ground  for  more  than  twenty  yours, 
used  for  clothes-line  posts,  showed  no  signs  of  decay,  and  be- 
gan to  study  up  the  tree  from  books,  from  which,  and  personal 
inquiry  and  correspondence,  he  soon  learned  its  great  value. 
Some  years  ago,  Suel  Foster,  of  Muscatine,  Iowa,  observing 
that  limbs  cut  from  catalpa  trees,  after  lying  on  the  ground 
for  years,  did  not  rot  like  the  limbs  of  other  trees,  began  to 
make  inquiries  and  comparing  observations  with  others,  learn- 
ed its  great  value. 

In  1860,  S.  H.  <fe  J.  B.  Binkley,  living  near  Alexandersville, 
Montgomery  County,  Ohio,  while  repairing  a  fence  Avith  stakes 
and  a  rider,  fell  short  of  stakes.  As  a  temporary  make-shift 
they  trimmed  up  some  catalpa  limbs,  cut  from  two  catalpa 
trees  in  their  yard,  and  used  them  for  stakes.  Five  years 
after,  the  cattle  ran  against  one  of  these  stakes  and  pulled  it 
out  of  the  ground.  Greatly  to  their  astonishment  they  found 
the  stake  perfectly  sound,  both  in  the  ground  and  out.  All 
the  other  catalpa  stakes  were  the  same.  These  stakes,  on  ex- 
amination last  summer,  were  found  to  be  sound,  after  being 
eighteen  years  in  the  ground. 

So  Avell  do  farmers,  in  Southern  Indiana  and  Illinois,  under- 
stand its  value  for  fence-posts  that  it  has  been  nearly  all  cut 


down,  where  it  was  formerly  abundant,  and  transported  in 
wagons  fifty  miles  or  more.  One  man,  who  has  large  numbers 
of  catalpa  trees  in  his  river  bottoms,  writes  me  that  persons 
living  on  the  uplands  come  down,  cut  and  haul  them  away, 
by  night,  for  posts. 

A  catalpa  gate-post,  set  in  the  ground  by  Gol.  Decker,  of  In- 
diana, in  1780,  was  found  to  be  sound  in  1871,  after  doing  duty 
ninety  years.  Col.  Corkum  has  known  catalpa  in  use  without 
a  stain  of  decay  after  fifty  years.  A  catalpa  bar-post  was  sent 
me  from  Indiana,  after  if  had  stood  in  the  ground  seventy-five 
years,  by  J.  S.  Miller,  of  the  Indiana  Central  R.  R.  It  is  per- 
fectly sound,  as  you  may  see  in  the  samples  before  me,  cut 
from  the  bottom  of  the  post.  Horace  J.  Smith,  of  Philadel- 
phia, writes:  "'I  had  occasion  to  remove  and  re-set  a  gate-post 
that  had  done  service  thirty  years,  and  found  it  abundantly 
sound  to  last  indefinitely  longer."  In  1834,  J.  M.  Bucklin,  a 
civil  engineer,  with  Governor  Davidson  and  others  of  Illinois, 
visited  Vincennes,  Ind.,  to  get  information  as  to  the  durability 
of  catalpa  for  bridges.  They  found  their  preconceived  opinion 
of  its  remarkable  durability  fully  confirmed.  The  facts  were 
notorious  and  unquestioned.  J.  P.  Epping,  Grahamville,  South 
Carolina,  writes:  "I  use  catalpa  for  fence-posts  in  preference 
to  any  other  wood."  Daniel  McNiel  says  that  "both  in  Indi- 
ana and  Louisiana,  where  he  has  resided,  the  catalpa  is  re- 
garded as  the  most  valuable  timber,  for  posts  and  fencing,  on 
account  of  its  great  durability." 

Capt.  Bournes,  Falmouth,  Mass.,  says  he  has  used  the  limbs 
cut  from  his  catalpa  trees  as  stakes  in  his  field  fences,  and 
thinks  it  as  durable  as  red  cedar. 

President  Harrison,  in  an  address,  reported  in  the  Pi-airir 
Mii'mrr  in  IS  to,  says:  "Catalpa  is  more  lasting  than  locust  or 
mulberry,  is  indigious  on  the  Wabash  and  branches,  and  its 
power  to  resist  decay  has  been  fully  tested,  both  under  ground 
and  in  contact  with  it.  A  catalpa  log.  known  to  be  lying 
over  the  Desh;i  in  1  7-S")  and  used  as  a  foot  bridge,  was  in  1840 
but  a  little  decayed.  Major  Andrew  Powell  says,  "a  catalpa 
bar  post  made  by  his  father-in-law  and  set  up  in  1770,  was 
taken  up  and  reset  <>n  his  farm  and  was  still  sound  in  IS-lo, 
after  being  in  use  seventy-live  years."  James  (  Mark,  of  South- 
ern Illinois,  writes:  "Catalpa  posts  that  have  been  in  the 
ground  forty  years  are  still  good  and  still  retain  the  bark  above 
ground."  -lames  Bell  of  Southern  Illinois,  writes,  that  "catal- 
pa fence  posts  have  been  taken  up  after  being  in  the  ground 
forty  years,  and  reset  as  being  good  lor  forty  years  more. 
That  catalpa  is  much  sought  after  by  old  settlers  for  fence 
posts  and  blocks  in  place  of  stone  to  set  buildings  on  ;  has  been 
nearly  all  carried  of]' to  the  hill  country  for  fence  posts."  lie 
has  sent  me  a  fence  post  and  a  gate  post  that  had  been  in  the 


8 

ground  forty-seven  years,  from  one  of  which  the  samples 
shown  here  are  cut.  D.  Axtell,  Superintendent  Missouri  Di- 
vision of  the  St.  Louis  and  Iron  Mountain  Railroad,  writes: 
"In  regard  to  durability  of  catalpa  it  is  useless  to  multiply 
words;  fence  posts  twenty  years  in  the  ground  are  always  as 
sound  as  when  first  put  in,  and  no  decayed  catalpa  logs  are 
ever  found  in  the  swamps.  A  section  of  a  catalpa  log  known 
to  have  laid  on  the  ground  in  the  swamps  fifty  years,  is  now 
in  the  office  of  the  land  department  of  the  road,  in  St.  Louis, 
and  is  as  sound  as  it  ever  was." 


CAN  THE  CATALPA  BE  CULTIVATED? 

No  tree  more  easily,  very  few  as  easily.  It  can  be  grown 
from  cuttings,  but  much  the  more  readily  from  seed.  Plant 
in  the  spring,  in  warm,  rich,  light  soil,  in  rows  3  to  4  feet 
apart,  cover  lightly  one  inch  unless  the  ground  is  liable  to 
bake,  in  which  case  much  less.  If  pressed  for  room,  li  to  2  feet 
apart,  placing  the  seed  3  inches  apart  in  the  row,  as  all  may  not 
germinate.  When  a  few  inches  high,  thin  out  to  1  foot  in  the 
row,  transplanting  those  taken  up.  At  1  foot  apart  in  the 
row  they  will  make  a  better  growth  than  nearer,  and  at  that 
distance,  if  desired,  they  maybe  left  in  the  seed  bed  two  years. 
They  are  more  easily  transplanted  at  the  end  of  one  year. 
though  they  may  be  left  in  seed  bed  two  or  even  three  years. 
When  transplanted,  place  them  4  feet  each  way.  Some  prefer 
3  feet  by  3  feet.  A  year  or  two  after  transplanting,  if  any  tree 
is' not  straight  or  puts  out  branches  too  low,  it  will  make  all 
the  taller  and  handsomer  tree  if  cut  down  to  the  ground. 
When  the  trees  are  large  enough  to  make  fence  stakes,  hop 
and  vineyard  poles,  cut  out  each  alternate  row  one  way. 
When  large  enough  to  make  fence  posts,  cut  out  each  alternate 
row  the  other  way.  In  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  years,  on 
good  ground,  the  remaining  trees  should  be  large  enough  to 
make  six  railroad  ties  each.  The  first  two  cuts  should  be  sawed 
through  the  middle;  the  next  two  being  smaller,  may  be  flat- 
tened on  two  sides.  The  rounded  side  of  the  ties  sawed  through 
the  middle  should  be  placed  down;  this  can  be  done,  because 
most  catalpa  trees  show  no  sap  wood,  and  none  more  than  from 
-J  to  J-  of  an  inch,  a  fact  that  adds  largely  to  its  economic  value. 
As  catalpa  is  fully  equal  to  the  best  white  walnut  or  cork  pine 
for  any  purpose  for  which  they  are  used,  and  is  susceptible  of 
finer  finish  and  higher  polish  than  either;  it  may  pay  better 
to  let  the  trees  grow  till  the}^  are  two  feet  or  more  in  diameter 
and  use  the  timber  for  cabinet  work  or  inside  finishing. 


WTLL  CATALPA   MAKK  A  SKR\TCKARLK   RAILROAD  TIK? 

This  is  matter  of  conjecture  in  part.  I  think  it  will,  for  the 
following  reasons;  Its  durahility  is  unquestioned;  it  is  very 
elastic,  and  contrary  to  what  most  suppose,  toujrh.  1  subjected 
pieces  of  ratalpa,  oak  and  ash,  one  inch  square,  to  a  break- 
ing pressure,  twelve  inches  between  supports.  The  catnlpa 
broke  under  a  pressure  of  70:>  pounds:  ash,  SIM)  pounds:  one 
piece  of  oak  broke  at  577-,  one  at  701),  and  one  at  1141  pounds. 
The  catalpa  deflected  three  times  as  much  as  the  oak  or  ash 
before  breaking.  Five  thousand  pounds  pressure  on  a  block  of 
oak.  three  inches  louo-  and  one  inch  square,  compressed  it  to  ,'£ 
of  an  inch;  a  second  block  was  compressed  to  j",  and  a  third  to 
rH  of  an  inch.  The  same  pressure  compressed  one  piece  of 
catalpa.  same  si/e,  to  ,76,  one  to  ,TH,  one  to  ,!';.  and  one  to  ,}-,.  White 
pine  was  compressed  to  ,'];;  Xorway  to  ^:  white  walnut  to  ,«; 
yellow  ]>ine  to  ," ;  black  walnut  to  jjj  and  ,«;  ash  compressed 
one  way  of  the  <:rain  J^,  another  /j.. 

These  samples  were  taken  at  random,  and  would  indicate 
that  catalpa  will  bear  the  pressure  to  which  it  is  subjected 
when  used  as  railroad  ties.  Two  catalpa  railroad  ties  were 
placed  in  the  track,  near  our  office,  five  years  a<r<>.  and  twelve 
one  year  a«ro.  All  hold  their  spikes  well,  and  show  no  si<rns 
of  mashing  more  than  oak  each  side  of  them,  and  over  both  of 
which  heavily  loaded  trains  pass  almost  hourly.  The  road- 
master,  who  has  watched  them  with  much  interest,  says  he- 
has  no  better  tics  on  the  line  of  his  road. 

I).  Axtcll,  Superintendent  of  the  Missouri  division  of  the 
Iron  Mountain  Railroad,  writes,  that  "catalpa  ties  placed  in 
the  track  of  his  road  ten  years  a,iro  are  perfect Iv  sound,  that  the 
rail  has  worn  info  some  of  them  from  one-half  an  inch  to  an 
inch,  and  it  has  been  conclusively  proven,  that  the  catalpa  is 
far  superior  for  tics  to  white  oak  or  any  other  kind  of  timber 
iiro\vii  in  that  latitude." 

Two   VAKIKTIKS  OF  CATALPA. 

There  are  two  varieties  of  catalpa  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois. 
Missouri.  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee,  ^rown  for  shade,  one  of 
which  at  least  is  native  to  the  forests  of  the  last  live  States. 
They  vary  fully  three  weeks  in  time  of  blooming.  The  earlier 
blooming,  called  also  Spcciosa.  and  the  hardy,  when  irrown 
sinirly.  is  taller,  strai^hter.  with  more  compact  top.  with 
whiter  and  larger  blossoms,  and  longer  and  larger  seed-pods, 
but  less  in  number,  and  is  usually  the  handsomer  tree.  After 
a  few  years  the  bark  «jro\vs  darker,  is  furrowed  and  rou«rh,  re- 
sembling black  locust  or  elm  of  same  age.  It  is  much  more 


10 

hardy  than  the  common  variety,  and  has  withstood  the  severest 
winters  up  to  and  even  beyond  42°  North  latitude. 

The  later  blooming,  or  common  variety,  resists  the  frosts  of 
winter  usually  below  40°.  If  the  young  trees  of  either  variety 
freeze,  they  should  he  cut  down  the  following  spring  close  to 
the  ground.  They  wrill  shoot  up  a  straight,  vigorous  stalk, 
and  after  that,  most  likely,  resist  the  frost.  The  common  va- 
riety, when  planted  singly,  is  often  leaning,  crooked,  and 
scraggy.  But  planted  in  groves,  grows  tall,  erect,  and  makes 
a  handsome  tree.  The  hark,  when  the  tree  is  grown,  is  light 
silver  gray  color,  comparatively  smooth,  the1  outer  coat  in 
flakes  or  scales.  There  are  before  me  samples  of  the  wood  of 
both  varieties,  and  also  samples  of  the  bark. 


GROWS  ON  ALMOST  ANY  SOIL. 

While  rich  river  bottoms,  particularly  such  as  are  subject 
to  overflow,  seem  to  furnish  the  most  natural  soil  for  catalpa, 
it  thrives  well  on  almost  any  soil.  J.  P.  M.  Kpping,  Grab  am  - 
ville,  S.  C.,  writes,  "Catalpa  springs  up  in  old  fields,  near 
roads,  or  in  old  abandoned  plantations;  seems  to  like  high 
land  with  sandy  clay  loam  host.  It  only  grows  spontaneous 
in  such  places."  Robert  W.  Pumas,  Brownville,  Neb.,  writes: 
"Grows  best  on  table  or  second  bottom  land."  G.  (1.  Bracket  t. 
Kansas,  writes:  "Makes  a  fine  tree  planted  on  deep  black'  soil  ; 
adapts  itself  to  groves,  and  becomes  more  luxuriant  than  in 
open,  exposed  places*"  E.  Gale,  Manhattan,  Kan.:  "Makes  a 
good  growth  in  a  forest  plat  upon  a  high,  gravelly  ridge  :  makes 
a  wonderful  success  upon  low,  rich  bottom  lands;  grows  finely 
on  all  kinds  of  land."  Win.  G.  Burk,  Medina,  Delaware  Co., 
Pa.:  "No  tree  springs  up  along  the  line  of  the  Philadelphia  A: 
West  Chester  R.  R.  so  freely,  or  grows  more  rapidly."  Horace 
J.  Smith,  Philadelphia:  "The  catalpa  flourishes  remarkably 
well  on  railroad  embankments,  roadsides,'  and  other  newly 
turned  up  ground.  On  the  spoil  barren  dirt  of  quarries,  of  the 
hills,  and  on  the  raw  clay  of  Philadelphia  level  meadows,  be- 
fore any  other  vegetation  takes  hold,  the  catalpa  plants  itself 
and  grows  finely."  Charles  Mohr,  Mobile,  Alabama:  "Thrives 
wonderfully  well  on  our  light  soil."  Joseph  Kirk,  Morrill, 
Brown  County,  Kan. :  "Have  a  catalpa  tree  of  the  early  va- 
riety, seven  years  old,  that  is  seven  inches  diameter  two  feet 
from  the  ground.  The  catalpa  is  a  very  fast  grower  here." 
Robert  Millikan,  Emporia,  Kan. :  "({rows  through  the  central 
and  Southern  part  of  the  State  with  the  greatest  luxuriance, 
on  second  bottom,  low  upland,  river  bottoms,  and  high  upland." 
J.  W.  Foster,  Livingstone,  Pratt  Co.,  Kan. :  "My  catalpa  seed- 
lings stand  the  dry  weather  very  well,  and  grow  finely."1  D. 


11 

Axtell,  Charleston,  Mo.:  "Catalpa,  in  South-eastern  Missouri, 
is  found  native  only  in  heavy,  stiff  soil,  subject  to  overflow, 
though  it  tli rives  well  when  planted  in  dry  places." 

A.  M.  Chapman,  Apalachicola,  Florida,  writes:  "Catalpa 
grows  here,  hut  is  too  small  a  tree  for  any  useful  purpose." 

J.  11.  Foster,  Pratt  County,  Kansas:  "Catalpa  seedlings 
stand  the  dry  weather  very  well." 

James  Hell.  I'llin,  Illinois:  "I  took  from  the  forests,  eatal pa 
trees  two  years  old.  in  1869,  one  and  a  half  inches  at  the  ground 
and  planted  on  high  hill  land,  in  1878  they  measured  twenty- 
four  to  twenty-eight  inches  six  feet  from  the  ground.  They 
had  but  little  root  when  planted." 

K.  P.  Morev,  Sterling,  Kansas,  "Planted  catalpa  seed  May 
25th,  that  made  a  fine  growth  of  two  feet  high  and  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 

Robert  \V.  Furnas:  "My  grove  of  six  thousand  catalpas 
three  years  old  are  from  ten  to  fourteen  feet  high.  Twelve 
years  ago  t  set  out  quite  small  catalpas,  for  shade,  ahout  six 
feet  high.  They  now  measure  forty-one  inches  in  circum- 
ference." 

Prof.  T.  J.  Hurrill,  Crbana,  Illinois:  <k  I  have  just  measured 
a  common  eatal  pa  of  nineteen  year's  growth,  grown  in  ordinarv 
prairie  soil,  and  find  sixteen  and  one-half  inches  across  the 
stump.  The  last  twelve  years  it  increased  over  fourteen 
inches  in  diameter.1' 

J.  F.  Tallant,  Burlington,  Iowa:  "My  catalpa  trees  two 
years  old  are  sound,  even  to  extreme  tip,  having  withstood  (he 
frost  when  the  mercury  was  :\()°  below  zero;  though  on  a  dry 
clay  hill,  with  thin  soil,  grew  four  feet  the  first  year,  in  a  very 
dry  season;  the  second,  a  rainy  one,  they  grew  so  rapidly  as  to 
be  ten  feet  high  and  two  inches  diameter.'1 

In  Marshall  County,  Illinois,  are  several  groves  of  Speciosa 
catalpa,  planted  in  the  prairie  twelve  to  sixteen  vears  airo. 
They  are  all  very  straight,  thrifty,  handsome  trees. 

The  catalpa,  seems  wonderfully  well  adapted  to  the  soil  and 
climate  of  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Tennesse,  -Indiana,  Illinois,  Mis- 
souri, Iowa,  Kansas,  and  Nebraska,  and  grows  luxuriantly  on 
most  soils  in  these  States. 


CO  X  C  LUS1  O  N. 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  facts  I  have  gathered,  and  tried  to  im- 
part to  others.  From  them  it  seems  to  me  clearlv  shown  that 
tlu1  catalpa  occupies  a  prominent  position  among  the  trees 
that  should  be  cultivated.  It  can  be  so  easilx  propogated;  so 
readily  cultivated  over  so  large  an  extent  of  territory;  it  is  so 
rapid  in  its  growth;  it  is  of  such  economic  value,  not  alone 


for  its  durability,  when  exposed  to  moisture,  but  also  for  all 
purposes  for  which  white  walnut  and  white  cork  pine,  the  two 
woods  that  season  the  quickest  and  keep  their  place  best,  may 
ho  used,  that  I  do  not  know  any  tree  that  presents  higher 
claims  for  general  cultivation.  From  the  experiments  I  have 
made,  there  is  no  one  tree  1  would  as  soon  use  for  the  entire 
structure  of  a  passenger  car,  including  sills,  plates,  posts,  and 
the  entire  frame  work,  also  for  outside  and  inside  finish,  as 
catalpa. 

What  1  have  said,  1  think,  shows  that  the  tree  is  worth  a 
most  careful  study.  There  is  very  much  that  needs  to  be 
known  about  it.  I  have  arranged  with  horticulturists  of  thir- 
ty years  experience  with  catalpa,  to  visit  several  places  where 
it  grows  native  in  the  forests,  also  some  groves  of  catalpa  grown 
from  the  seed,  to  gather  such  facts  as  may  guide  in  its  success- 
ful cultivation. 

'Any  one  having  any  facts  or  information  pertaining  in  any 
way  to  catalpa.,  will  confer  a  favor  on  the  public  if  they  will 
communicate  them  to  me.  There  has  been  such  a  demand  for 
a  pamphlet  I  published  last  January,  on  the  catalpa,  that  the 
edition  is  nearly  exhausted.  I  hope  to  reprint  a  portion  of 
this  with  such  other  facts  and  information  as  I  may  obtain  up 
to  that  time.  1  wish  to  make  this  as  full  and  complete  as  may 
be,  for  the  benefit  of  the  public,  and  therefore  ask  its  aid  in 
gathering  these  facts  and  this  information. 


THE   GAT  ALP  A. 


Prof.  (J.  S.  Sargent,  of  the  Arnold  Arboretum  and  Botanic 
(lardens  of  Harvard  University,  has  kindly  furnished  the  fol- 
lowing paper : 

E.   E.   BARNKY,   ESQ.: 

X/r:  1  have  examined  with  much  interest  the  various  speci- 
mens of  catalpu  wood,  with  which  you  have  favored  me  at 
different  times. 

1  find  that  the  specific  gravity  of  the  wood  of  the  common 
('nhtlfHi  bignonioides  is,  when  perfectly  dry,  .405;  and  that  the 
specific  gravity  of  the  wood  of  the  early  blooming  variety,  also 
perfectly  dry,  is  .462.*  The  ratio  of  weight  of  any  wood  to  the 
weight  of  an  equal  body  of  water,  that  is  its  specific  gravity, 
gives  in  many  respects  the  surest  indication  of  its  value  for 
construction  and  fuel.  But  to  show  the  relative  value  of  catalpa, 
it  will  be  well  to  compare  its  specific  gravity  with  that  of  some 
better  known  or  standard  woods. 

Specific  gravity  of  common  Catalpa.  .405. 

>L    early  blooming  Tata! pa,     .4<VJ. 

-    Eastern  Hickory.  ..X/JX. 

White  Oak,  .WL>. 

"    American  Elm,  .649. 

"    Rock  Elm,t  .832. 

••    Black  Walnut,  .577. 

"        "   Canoe  Birch,  .5:>(J. 

u    Wild  Cherry,  .488. 

"    Ailanthus.  '  .614. 

By  this  comparison  it  will  be  seen  that  catalpa  is  inferior 
in  weight,  and  consequently  in  strength  and  heat-giving  qual- 
ities, to  even  such  soft  woods  as  the  black  walnut,  the  canoe 
birch,  or  even  the  wild  cherry,  which  up  to  this  time  is  the 

-Tlic.s*-  sp.-citic  LM-iiviti.-s  h:-iv.-  I n  ml'-ulnt.-.!  l.y  Mr.  S.  P.  Slmrplrs-,  St:it.-  As^;iy..-r  of 

Massachusetts. 

f  Uhnuis  rncemosa. — Thomas. 


14 

lightest  of  American  hard  woods,  which  I  have  examined 
critically.  It  is  remarkable  that  so  soft  and  light  a  wood  as 
the  catalpa  should  possess  the  power  of  resisting  decay  to  a 
degree  almost  unknown  in  the  hardest  and  heaviest  woods.  It 
is  unnecessary  for  me  to  dwell  at  this  time  on  tin1  indestructi- 
ble nature  of  this  wood,  for  so  many  examples  of  its  wonderful 
durability  have1  of  late  been  brought  to  public  notice  that  the 
fact  is  now  established  beyond  question.  But  why  the  soft 
wood  of  this  fast  growing  tree,  which  is  traversed  with  large 
open  ducts,  nearly  as  broad  as  those  of  red  oak,  a  wood  which 
notoriously  rots  very  quickly,  should  be  able  to  resist  decay  to 
such  a  degree,  is  not  clear;  and  this  fact  presents  an  interest- 
ing problem,. which  the  chemist  or  the  vegetable  physiologist 
may  perhaps  be  able  to  solve. 

As  fuel  the  catalpa  has  but  little  value.  For  the  cabinet 
maker  or  the  architect  it  will  rank  with  such  North  Ameri- 
can hard  woods  as  the  cherry,  the  black  walnut,  the  ash,  and 
the  butternut.  The  wood  is  close  grained,  very  easily  worked, 
and  susceptible  of  an  excellent  polish.  In  color  and  general 
appearance  it  resembles  chestnut,  but  unlike  chestnut  it  is 
easily  "filled,"  and  shows  none  of  the  tendency  to  warp  or 
start,  which  renders  that  wood  unfit  for  the  best  cabinet  w<»r\. 
It  is,  however,  for  fence  and  telegraph  posts,  hop  and  vin  •- 
yard  poles  that  the  wood  of  the  catalpa  has  no  known  equal 
among  extra-tropical  woods.  It  is  for  these,  and  other  em- 
ployments, where  a  cheap  material  capable  of  resisting  decav, 
when  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  soil  and  weather,  is  requir- 
ed, that  catalpa  can  be  more  profitably  employed  than  the 
wood  of  any  other  tree  suitable  for  cultivation  over  so  large 
an  area  of  the  United  States.  Tatalpa  wood  seems  particu- 
larly suited  for  the  manufacture  of  coffins,  for  which  purpose 
it  promises  to  rival  the  famous  \an-inti  wood  of  the  Chinese; 
and  it  is  not  altogether  improbable  that  before  many  years, 
we  may  see  large  quantities  of  catalpa  exported  to  China  to 
take  the  place  of  that  scarce  and  high-priced  material  for  the 
construction  of  coffins.  Incidentally,  it  is  suggested  that 
catalpa  may  prove  an  excellent  material  from  which  to  make 
permanent  garden  labels.  Much  has  been  said  in  various 
quarters  of  the  excellence  and  durability  of  catalpa  railway 
ties.  Of  the  power  of  this  wood,  when  so  employed,  to  resist 
decay,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  But  whether  a  soft  wood  like 
the  catalpa  will  bear  the  crushing  and  wearing  of  the  rails, 
or  hold  spikes  as  well  as  .harder  woods,  like  white  oak  and 
chestnut  (the  best  materials  from  which  American  ties  arc 
made),  only  carefully  conducted  comparative  experiments  can 
demonstrate.  Such  experiments,  by  which  the  comparative 
value  of  the  several  woods  used  or  recommended  for  railway 
ties  is  to  be  fairlv  tested,  have  been  lately  inaugurated  both 


15 

in  Massachusetts  and  Ohio:  and  information  is  expected  from 
them  which  will  lead  to  important  practical  results. 

The  catalpa  can  he  safely  planted  in  strong,  rich  soil,  in  any 
portion  of  the  United  States  south  of  the  42d  parallel.  Fur- 
ther North  it  often  suffers  in  severe  winters,  especially  when 
young;  and  in  the  Xew  England  States,  except  in  a  few  ex- 
ceptional situations,  the  soil  is  not  rich  enough  to  make  the 
planting  of  this  tree  as  profitable  as  that  of  many  others  bet- 
ter suited  to  reach  maturity  in  this  section  of  the  country. 
For  that  portion  of  the  treeless  region  of  the  West,  south  of 
the  42d  parallel,  especially  for  Kansas  and  Southern  Nebraska, 
I  am  satisfied  that  no  tree,  which  has  yet  been  suggested  for 
general  planting  there,  will  at  all  equal  the  catalpa,  either  in 
the  rapidity  of  its  growth  or  the  value  of  its  wood,  with  the 
single  exception,  perhaps,  of  the  Ailanthus. 

The  growth  of  the  catalpa  in  the  rich  prairie  soil  is  simply 
astounding.  I  have  now  before  me  a  specimen  cut  from  a 
tree  which  grew  at  Brownsville,  Nebraska,  and  which  shows 
but  four  annual  layers  of  growth  from  the  seed.  It  is  9f 
inches  in  circumference,  and  the  growth  of  the  first  two  years, 
\l  inches  in  diameter,  is  already  changed  into' heart  wood. 

During  the  autumn  of  1877,  the  Missouri  River,  Fort  Scott  & 
(iulf  R.  R.  commenced  experimental  plantations  of  various 
trees  on  their  land,  near  Fort  Scott,  in  Kansas.  The  super- 
intendent of  the  road,  in  his  report  to  the  president  on  the 
condition  of  these  plantations  at  the  end  of  their  first  year, 
says:  "The  catalpa  has  certainly  proved  to  be  the  strongest 
grower,  and  most  tenacious,  standing  the  dry  weather  better 
than  other  varieties,  and  at  present  rate  will  come  to  maturity 
years  before  other  varieties  are  of  sufficient  si/e  to  he  of  anv 
utility." 

I  have  said  that  as  fuel  the  catalpa  is  of  little  value.  Such 
a  statement  is  comparative  rather  than  absolute.  As  com- 
pared with  the  cotton  woods,  box  elders,  or  white  maples, 
which  have  been  heretofore  almost  exclusively  planted  on  the 
prairies,  it  is  of  very  great  value;  and,  though  not  yet  proved 
to  be  the  e<|iial  of  white  oak  or  chestnut  for  railway  ties,  it 
is  far  superior  to  any  other  tree  which  can  with  certaintv  be 
grown  (jiiickly  and  profitably,  where  there  will  always  be'  the 
greatest  scarcity  of  material  for  ties,  namely,  in  those  States 
watered  by  the  Missouri  and  its  tributaries. 

I  add  a  few  brief  and  sim pie  characters  of  the  only  Tatalpas 
now  known,  which  can  be  cultivated  in  the  (Tnited  States 
North  of  the  extreme  Southern  portion  of  Florida,  in  the  hope 
of  aiding  horticulturists  to  more  readily  determine  tie  various 
species  now  (|iiite  generally  cultivated,  and  in  regard  to  which 
there  seems  to  be  much  confusion. 


16 

1.  Catalpa  bignonioides. — Walt. 

Leaves  ovate,  heart-shaped  at  the  base,  pointed,  and  rarely 
somewhat  lobed.  Flowers  white,  tinged  with  purple  and  dot- 
ted with  purple  and  yellow  in  throat;  appearing  (at  the  North) 
from  the  1st  to  the  middle  of  July.  Pods  nearly  cylindrical, 
or  often  somewhat  flattened,  rarely  ever  one  foot  in  length. 
Seeds  H  inches  long,  their  wings  gradually  narrowed  to  sharp 
points,  and  ending  in  tufts  of  long,  white  hairs,  often  an  inch 
in  length.  Bark  thin,  scaly,  silver  gray. 

2.  TUP:  "EARLY  FLOWERING"  CATALPA. 

This  can  be  distinguished  from  Xo.  1  by  its  more  gradually 
pointed  leaves,  its  larger  white  flowers,  appearing  (in  Ohio) 
during  the  first  week  of  .June;  by  its  larger  and  much  flatten- 
ed pods,  often  1H  to  18  inches  long,  and  with  much  thicker 
walls;  by  its  shorter,  broader  seeds,  with  wings  of  equal 
width  to  their  rounded  ends,  which  arc  terminated  by  a  .copi- 
ous fringe  of  stouter  hairs;  and  by  its  darker  and  thicker,  fur- 
rowed bark. 

I  have  already  shown  that  the  wood  of  this  form  is  consider- 
ably heavier  than  that  of  the  ordinary  catalpa.  Further  in- 
vestigation is  necessary  to  determine  whether  this  is  a  dis- 
tinct species,  or  only  a  well-marked  form  of  Catalpa  bicfnonioide*, 
and  connected  with  it  by  intermediate  forms.  If  distinct  it 
should  be  known  as  C.  speciosa. 

'>.     C.  Kaempheri,  I).  C.     Native  of  Japan. 

Leaves  smaller  than  in  the  American  species,  ovate,  heart- 
shaped  at  the  base,  abruptly  sharp-pointed  and  often  with  one 
or  more  sharp-pointed  lateral  lobes.  Flowers  smaller  than  in 
the  American  species,  spotted  with  purple,  sweet-scented,  ap- 
pearing (near  Boston)  during  the  first  week  of  . July.  Pods 
about  one  foot  long,  cylindrical,  slender,  not  more  than  ^  of 
an  inch  in  diameter.  Seeds  much  smaller  than  in  the-  Ameri- 
can species,  the  wings  short,  blunt,  and  ending  in  a  copious 
fringe  of  soft  white  hairs;  the  seed  and  its  appendages  rarely 
Y  of  an  inch  long.  Bark  in  young  plants  thin,  scaly,  light 
gray. 

F  have  no  information  of  the  si/e  this  tree  may  attain  un- 
der favorable  conditions,  although  it  is  spoken  of  as  a  small 
tree  in  all  works  on  Japanese  botany.  Near  Boston  it  is  rather 
hardier  than  the  American  species,  and  flowers  and  ripens  its 
fruit  freelv  when  not  more  than  twelve  feet  high.  T  have  no 
information  whatever  as  to  the  economic  value  of  this  species. 


17 
4.     f'ntnf.po  /??/.??  r/r/,  C.  A.  Mey.     Native  of  Northern  China. 


•  Leaves  much  smaller  than  in  No.  o\  oblong,  ovate, 
N/I  a  }>c(l  'if  the  i^/.sr.very  gradually  tapering  in  to  a  long,  sharp 
point.  Flowers  smaller  than  in  the  other  species,  color  un- 
known to  me.  hut  prohably  white.  Fruit  unseen  by  inc. 

(\  Hdiiiff/'  is  said  to  become  a  tree,  but  it  only  appears  in 
cultivation  in  this  country  as  a  spreading  bush,  eight  to  ten 
feet  high,  and  sometimes  twenty  feet  in  diameter.  1  have 
never  heard  that  it  has  flowered  in  this  country,  and  I  am 
ignorant  of  the  quality  of  the  wood  it  may  produce. 

C.  S.  SARGENT. 
Canibridr.  .I/*/**.,  D 


Dr.  Warder's  Report  on  the  Catalpa. 


THE  CATALl'A  (JussiEr). 

Natural  family  HH.NONIACK.K. 

<  renus    Catalpa     i.Jiiassieu ),    Scopoli.    Kndlicher. 

Synoniin  :    Bi^nonia  (Michaux). 
There  are  six  species : 

1.  Oatalpa  Bignonioides  (Walter)*  I',  s. 

Syn.:   Syrinu'd't'olia  (Sims,  1'ui'slii. 

Qordifolia  (Nnttall,  Elliott,  Jhihamel). 

l^i.irnonia  ('atal]>a  (Michanx,  Willdenow,  Linnanis). 

1>.  Amei-icana  (  Duhamel). 

Kavvarra  Fisaira  ( Iv;i'in])fer).  afcrorcliiiff  to  Siemonip. 

2.  ( 'atalpa  lonirissiiiia  ;    \V.  Indies. 

Syn.:  (\  lonu-isili<iua. 
.'!.     Catalpa  punetata;   W.  Indies. 
4.     ('atalpa  hirsnta;   Hraxil. 
o.    Catalpa  Butogei ;  China. 
0.     Catalpa  K;i'in|>l'eri ;  .Japan. 

This  conspectus  is  after  Hooker  ami  other  botanists  of  eminence,  and 
was  prepared  with  the  valuable  assistance  of  Messrs.  ( ieo.  Yasey,  A.  P. 
Morgan,  and  others. 

Our  own  native  Catalpa,  or  Catalpas,  alone  are  now  to  he  considered. 
This  report  will  relate  to  their  ran^r  and  habitats  in  nature,  and  indicate 
the  limits  to  which  the  trees  have  been  extended  by  human  agency  in 
our  own  and  other  countries.  Reference  will  also  be  made  to  the  char- 


18 

acters  of  the  two  distinct  kinds  we  have  in  cultivation,  their  respective 
merits,  as  to  habit  and  hardiness  for  economic  planting,  the  methods  of 
their  propagation,  and  treatment,  also  to  the  character  of  the  timber  and 
its  value  in  the  various  purposes  to  which  it  has  been  and  may  be  ap- 
plied. 

This  paper  has  been  epitomized  from  a  much  larger  and  fuller  memoir 
of  the  tree,  which  was  found  to  be  too  voluminous  for  the  present  occa- 
sion ;  it  will  briefly  treat  of  the  catalpa  bignonioides  of  Walter,  and  of  its 
western  congener,*  but  recently  recognized  as  a  distinct  variety  or  per- 
haps species^  and  known  in  Ohio  as  the  Speciosa  variety  since  1853,  as 
the  Early  Blooming,  and  in  Iowa  as  the  Hardy  Catalpa.  The  typical 
tree,  that  from  which  the  species  was  formed,  is  spoken  of  as  the  Georgia 
Catalpa,  from  its  earliest  known  habitat ;  it  is  often  referred  to  as  the 
common  kind,  and  as  the  eastern  kind,  in  contradistinction  to  our  favor- 
ite western  tree,  which  is  considered  so  very  superior  in  form  arid  hardi- 
ness, that  it  alone  is  recommended  for  extensive  propagation  and  plant- 
ing for  economical  purposes. 

At  the  request  of  Mr.  E.  E.  Barney,  and  as  a  labor  of  loye,  the  seri- 
ous and  extensive  investigation  of  the  habitats  of  these  plants  has  been 
undertaken  within  a  few  months.  By  the  kind,  assistance  of  many  cor- 
respondents in  numerous  States,  accompanied,  in  many  instances,  with 
samples  of  the  fruit  and  seeds  from  various  parts  of  the  country,  a  largo 
collection  of  these  has  been  gathered,  and  they  have  proved  of  great 
value,  as  aids  in  settling  the  range  and  the  native  habitats  of  the  two 
kinds,  the  eastern  and  the  western,  which,  though  not  absolutely  settled, 
it  is  believed  will  be  found  on  the  eastern  and  western  slopes  of  the 
Appalachian  water-shed,  toward  the  southern  extremity  of  that  moun- 
tain range. 

The  history  and  description  of  the  species,  or  the  Eastern  Catalpa,  has 
been  very  fully  set  forth  by  the  botanists;  though  for  a  long  time  after  it 
had  been  introduced  into  cultivation,  and  after  it  had  been  spread  all 
along  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  was  known  in  every  town,  as  we  are  told, 
from  Louisiana  to  Massachusetts,  few  of  the  writers  had  ever  seen  the 
tree  in  its  native  wilds.  It  was  indeed  for  a  long  time  a  question  whether 
it  was  really  indigenous  any  where  within  our  borders.  Meanwhile  the 
tree  had  been  taken  to  Europe  and  was  planted  in  many  countries;  and 
as  the  population  of  the  United  States  progressed  westward,  this  catalpa 
accompanied  or  followed,  until  it  has  reached  far  out  into  the  plains 
West  of  the  Missouri  River,  crossing  over  and  beyond  the  native  range 
of  its  western  congener,  and  even  mingled  with  it  in  some  places,  so  that 
both  kinds  may  often  be  seen  side  by  side  in  the  same  avenues  or  groups 
of  planted  trees.  This  Eastern  Catalpa  has  been  so  widely  planted  thai 
it  may  well  have  been  called  the  common  kind. 

The  earliest  accounts  we  have  of  the  Western  ('(t/dl/m,  were  reports  of 
the  observations  quoted  by  Mr.  Nuttall  from  General  Harrison.  Mho  made 
its  acquaintance  when  residing  at  Yincennes,  Indiana,  as  Governor  of 
the  North-western  Territory,  but  it  does  not  seem  to  have  been  suspected 
that  this  was  different  from  the  well-known  eastern  tree,  for  which  the 
species,  bignonioides,  had  been  erected  by  Walter. 

The  attention  of  the  writer  was  called  to  the  showy  flowers  of  this,  the 
early  blooming  kind,  by  his  friend,  .Jno.  C.  Teas,  of  Indiana,  who  re- 
ferred him  to  the  streets  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  where  it  had  been  propagated 
and  planted  quite  extensively  by  the  late  Dr.  Job  Ilaines.  These  were 
visited  when  in  bloom.  In  1853  it  was  described  and  presented  to  the 
public  in  the  columns  of  the  Western  Horticultural  Re-rieic,  published  in 
Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

As  a  variety  name,  it  was  called  Speciosa  on  account  of  its  large  and 
showy  flowers.  A  further  study,  especially  within  the  past  few  months, 


10 

inclines  the  writer  t<>  believe  that  this  catalpa  may  be  worthy  of  being 
erected  into  a  species;  in  this  opinion  some  eminent  botanists  concur, 
and  they  have  kindly  promised  their  valuable  assistance  in  diagnosing 
the  plant  when  again  in  blossom.  The  peculiarities  observable  in  the 
fruit-pods  and  seeds,  which  prove  most  valuable  means  of  discriminating 
between  the  two  kinds,  were  suggested  by  Mr.  R.  Douglas,  of  AVaukegan, 
Illinois,  whose  long  experience,  and  his  acumen  in  the  observation  of 
these  organs,  has  enabled  him  to  detect  characters  that  might  have  been 
overlooked  by  a  less  observant  eye. 

The  earlier  history  of  this  Dayton  group  has  never  been  traced  beyond 
the  two  trees  from  which  Dr.  Haines  first  gathered  seed  for  propagation—- 
but it  is  now  clear,  that  as  they  are  the  same  with  those  found  in  the 
delta  lands  of  the  Mississippi,'  they  were  of  the  western  stock.  They 
may  have  come  to  Ohio  independently,  or  possibly  through  General  Har- 
rison, who,  011  retiring  from  office,  brought  plants  to  Jjis  home  at  North 
Bend,  Ohio,  some  of  which  were  distributed,  and  those  of  his  own  plant- 
ing, with  their  self-sown  progeny,  are  still  to  be  found  in  that  neighbor- 
hood almost  naturalized.  * 

From  one  or  other  of  these  groups,  this  form  of  catalpa  was  sent  from 
Cincinnati  to  Massachusetts  many  years  ago,  and  trees  are  now  to  be 
seen  near  Fahnouth,  as  reported  by  Mr.  Jos.  S.  Fay,  whose  timber  plant- 
ings at  Wood's  Holl  have  been  very  successful. 

Mr.  Arthur  Bryant,  Sen.,  of  Princeton,  Illinois,  gathered  catalpa  pods 
at  New  Madrid  in  1839,  from  which  he  grew  trees  of  this  variety,  and  he 
has  since  propagated  and  distributed  plants,  which  have  been  Very  suc- 
cessful in  Northern  Illinois  and  elsewhere,  in  places  that  were  not  adapt- 
ed to  the  eastern  kind.  On  his  grounds  plants  spring  up  naturally  from 
self-sown  seeds,  showing  their  adaptation  to  the  prairie  soil. 

Mr.  John  Litchfield,  after  settling  on  the  prairie  in  Middle  Illinois, 
South  of  LaSalle,  procured  seeds  of  the  catalpa  from  his  old  home  in 
Yanderburgh  County,  Indiana,  from  which  he  has  planted  groves  that 
have  been  verv  successful.  They  are  all  of  the  Speciosa — not  a  single 
tree  of  the  specific  type  was  to  be  found  in  the  neighborhood. 

The  Omaha  group  has  been  received  by  a  circuitous  route.  Many  years 
ago  a  traveler  visiting  a  friend  in  Washtenaw  County,  Michigan,  left  a 
seed-pod  that  he  had  brought  from  Kentucky.  Ignorant  of  its  character, 
Mr.  Rennet  planted  the  seeds,  and  from  him  Mr.  Joel  T.  Griffen  purchas- 
ed two  plants  that  were  taken  to  his  home  near  Omaha,  Nebraska,  where 
they  have  been  multiplied  and  are  scattered  in  that  region. 

The  Iowa  group  has  been  traced  directly  to  the  Dayton  trees  by  Mr. 
Suel  Foster,  who  procured  them  from  a  trader  who  had  brought  them 
from  the  Messrs.  Teas,  then  nurserymen  of  Indiana.  It  is  curious  to 
observe  how  universally  other  nurserymen  have  introduced  the  eastern 
form,  and  how  widely  it  has  been  disseminated  through  these  western 
States  at  the  expense  of  the  native  Speciosa. 

THE  HABITATS  OF  THE  CATALPAS. 

The  Species;  -In  his  work  upon  the  American  Forest  Trees,  Mr. 
Michaux  referred  to  several  places  where  this  tree  had  been  found  in 
the  upper  parts  of  Georgia  and  Carolina;  following  these  indications, 
Nuttail  wrole  that  at  one  of  the  habitats  thus  indicated,  near  Columbus. 
<  ieor<_ria.  he  "  for  the  lirst  time  in  his  life,  beheld  this  tree  decidedly  na- 
tive, forming  small,  hazard,  crooked  trees,  leaning  fantastically  over  the 
rocky  hanks  of 'the  Chatta-hoot-shee  River."  Correspondents  i'n  Georgia 
and  Alabama  have  referred  to  the  catalpa  as  being  found  along  the 
streams,  dearly  indigenous,  and  they  describe  it  as  a  live  of  large  si/e. 
All  the  seeds  received  from  that  region,  whether  from  wild  or  cultivated 


20.  y 

trees,  are  of  the  eastern  kind.  Indeed  it  is  believed  that  all  of  the  plants 
now  found  on  the  eastern  flank  of  the  Alleghenies  are  of  that  stock, 
except  .a  few  in  Massachusetts  which  were  sent  from  Cincinnati;  though 
others  may  yet  be  identified  that  have  a  western  origin  and  form. 

The  habitats  of  the  western  plant  will  now  be  indicated.  The  tree  is 
found  on  the  bottom  lands  of  the  Wabash  and  its  tributary,  the  White 
River  of  Indiana,  on  the  lower  Ohio  and  its  tributaries,  the  Cumberland 
and  the  Tennessee,  as  well  as  the  W abash,  the  Little  W abash,  the  Saline, 
the  Cache,  and  other  streams.  It  is  also  found  on  the  extensive  swampy 
region  of  the  Mississippi  about  New  Madrid,  in  South-eastern  Missouri, 
and  the  adjoining  portion  of  Arkansas,  as  well  as  in  the  neighboring  low 
lands  of  the  western  portion  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  particularly 
along  the  ( )bion  River. 

In  all  this  region  of  silty  soil  known  as  the  Delta  country,  the  forests 
produce  this  particular  catalpa,  the  locality  being  in  these  six  neighbor- 
ing States.  It  has  also  been  found  by  Mr.  Teas,  on  the  Arkansas  River 
near  Little  Rock,  and  on  the  waters  of  the  Red  River  near  the  south- 
western portion  of  Arkansas,  and  presumably  it  exists  on 'most  of  the 
tributaries  of  the  lower  portions  of  the  Great  River;  to  which  region, 
however,  these  recent  special  investigations  have  riot  been  extended. 

In  all  the  territory  above  indicated,  which  has  been  critically  explored, 
the  Speciosa  variety  alone  has  been  discovered  in  a  state  of  nature — not 
one  of  the  Georgia  kind,  the  recognized  species,  C.  bignonioides,  of  Walter, 
has  been  seen  except  where  planted  by  the  hand  of  man. 

It  is  now  so  fully  demonstrated  that  there  are  in  nature  and  in  cultiva- 
tion two  distinct  trees  that  it  may  be  well  to  point  out  their  differences. 
This  will  be  done  as  much  as  possible  in  popular  terms. 

DIAGNOSIS  OF  THE  Two  FORMS. 

The  species,  the  native  of  Georgia,  or  the  common  Catalpa : 

Tree — As  described  by  the  botanists,  usually  low-branched,  short-stem- 
med when  in  open  lands,  often  leaning.  When  planted  in  thick  groves 
the  stems  become  taller,  but  are  seldom  really  straight.  Young  plants 
often  winter-killed,  and  older  ones  frequently  injured  North  of  lati- 
tude 40  and  41  N.  on  the  West  of  the  Alleghenies. 

Bark — Gray,  and  in  mature  trees,  or  those  of  ten  or  twelve  years  or  more, 
it  is  scaly,  and  easily  detached  in  small,  thin  plates. 

Leaves — Similar  in  both  kinds,  but  in  their  young  state  having  less  of  the 
purple  tinge  that  is  common  in  those' of  the  Speciosa;  at  maturity 
they  are  a  shade  darker. 

Flowers — As  represented  in  Michaux'  plate,  white,  tinged  with  violet, 
having  purple  and  yellow  spots  inside  the  throat  of  its  bell-shaped 
corolla;  fragrant,— blooms  come  later  by  from  one  to  three  weeks 
than  the  western  form. 

Fruit — Usually  very  abundant,  pods  from  8-15  inches  long,  somewhat 
flattened,  the  valves  meeting  at  an  angle  form  a  ridge  that  can  be  felt 
when  it  is  rolled  between  the  thumb  and  finger,  hence  the  section  is 
lenticular;  the  surface  is  slightly  uneven,  somewhat  grooved  in  some 
specimens,  color  light  brown,  especially  on  trees  cultivated  in  this 
latitude ;  the  pods  received  from  Georgia  and  Alabama,  are  darker. 

Seeds — Applied  end  to  end  in  one  or  more  layers  to  a  rather  flat  and 
grooved  placenta  or  pith.  They  are  winged  as  described,  in  their 
entire  length,  from  one  to  one 'inch  and  seven  lines,  breadth  two 
lines;  average  100  seeds  to  a  pod.  The  coma  or  fringe  of  hairs  pro- 
jecting from  each  end,  is  sharply  pointed  as  though  they  had  been 
wetted  and  drawn  together. 


'2\ 

The  variety  Speciosa.  or  Western  Catalpa: 

Tre< — .More  erect,  naturally  growing  taller,  and  better  furnished  with 
limbs  when  exposed  to  the  light.  In  thick  groves,  erect,  straight 
and  tall,  often  lit'ty  feet  high  to  limbs,  which  are  not  unfrequently 
broken  in  the  forests  when  old.  In  cultivation  this  is  more  hardy 
than  the  species. 

H<trk-  —  \\\  young  trees  is  light  gray,  becoming  darker  with  age.  Adhering 
closely,  and  moderately  furrowed  vertically,  thicker,  because  it  does 
not  scale  off,  and  in  old  trees  it  may  become  quite  dark. 

Isaiw — Like  the  other,  but  of  a  paler  tint  of  green;  when  first  expand- 
ing on  young  seedlings  they  often  have  a  dull,  livid  hue. 

MOHVI-X — Much  larger,  nearly  pure  white,  markings  in  the  throat  clear 
yellow  and  purple,  very  showy,  and  expanding  from  one  to  three 
weeks  earlier. 

l'\-n!t — Often  less  abundant,  pods  usually  larger  and  longer,  15-20  and 
more  inches,  cylindrical,  ("5-7  lines  in  diameter.  They  are  generally 
of  a  darker  brown  color,  and  usually  marked  with  distinct  parallel 
grooves  extending  their  entire  length. 

,sv<W.s'— -  Decidedly  winged  and  fully  fringed  at  both  ends — heavier  and 
larger  than  the  species,  and  wider,  4  lines.  The  texture  of  the  mem- 
brane- and  tuft  is  more  silky,  compared  with  the  satiny  and  harsher 
tissue  enveloping  the  seeds  of  the  species,  or  common  catalpa. 

RANGE  AND   RELATIVE  HAKDIXESS. 

Let  us' now  take  a  glance  at  the  range  to  which  these  trees  have  been 
taken  in  their  migrations,  and  we  shall  see  that  they  differ  in  their  rela- 
tive hardiness.  This  is  a  very  important  consideration  to  the  practical 
tree-planter  who  is  looking  to  the  production  of  groves  for  economical 
purposes.  In  the  milder  climate  of  Western  Europe  our  trees  may  reach 
a  much  higher  latitude  than  here.  Thus  we  find  that  the  Georgia  Catalpa 
thrives  in  the  South  of  France  and  in  Italy.  Its  limbs  or  twigs  are  some- 
times cut  by  frosts  in  Paris,  where,  however,  it  has  attained  fair  propor- 
tions. It  has  grown  to  a  good  si/e  at  Vienna,  Austria.  Dr.  F.  Brendel, 
of  Peoria,  Illinois,  to  whom  the  writer  acknowledges  indebtedness  for 
man}'  botanical  references  relating  to  the  genus  catalpa,  has  just  written 
that  in  1S4()  he  collected  flowering  specimens  in  Bamberg,  Germany, 
latitude  oO  N.,  and  7<>0  feet  above  the  sea.  The  trees  were  then  about 
ten  inches  diameter,  and  he  thinks  they  were  of  the  (.'astern  kind.  In 
the  .South  of  England  it  has  grown  well,  blossoming  in  London  at  mid- 
summer, but  rarely  perfecting  its  seeds.  In  Glasgow,  Scotland,  it  is  al- 
most an  herbaceous  plant,  not  perfecting  its  woody  fiber;  and  at  St. 
Petersburg!!,  in  Russia,  it  requires  the  protection  of  the  green-house. 
All  these  foreign  trees  are  believed  to  be  of  the  Georgia  kind. 

In  very  early  times,  in  our  own  country,  this  catalpa  was  planted  for 
ornament  and'  shade  in  all  the  towns  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  it 
may  be  found  even  in  Massachusetts,  where,  however,  Professor  Sargent 
says,  though  it  has  survived  for  7">  and  perhaps  for  KM)  years,  it  does  not 
always  perfect  its  seed,  and  can  not  be  considered  a  perfectly  hardy  tree; 
nor  ("iocs  he  recommend  it  to  planters  there,  "except  perhaps  in  favored 
localities,  like  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut." 

In  the  later  edition  of  Darlington's  Agricultural  Botany,  where  it  is 
described  as  a  small  tree,  Dr.  Geo.  Thurber,  the  editor,  adds  this  observa- 
tion: "  In  the  latitude  of  New  York  the  larger  branches,  and  frequently 
whole  trees  are  killed  bv  a  severe  winter." 


22 

About  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Meehan,  editor  of  the  Gardener's  Monthly,  con- 
siders it  perfectly  hardy,  and  indeed  the  writer  himself  long  ago  noticed 
that  it  was  becoming  naturalized  there  and  springing  up  spontaneously. 

From  Eli  K.  Price,  Esq.,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Trees  arid 
Nurseries  in  the  Fairmount  Park,  and  a  devotee  to  sylviculture,  the  fol- 
lowing facts  have  been  kindly  furnished: 

"I  have  been  here  since  1815,  and  have  known  the  tree  as  common 
since  that  time."  He  then  quotes  a  catalogue  of  Dr.  Muhlenberg's,  dated 
1791,  which  included  the  catalpa,  but  not  native.  "There  is  one  growing 
before  my  window  on  the  north-west  corner  of  Washington  Square,  with 
a  girth  of  eight  feet,  four  feet  from  the  ground.  Tins  was  probably 
planted  in  the  spring  of  1816.  We  have  one  in  the 

Fairmount  Park,  a  larger  catalpa,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Schuylkill,  now 
surrounded  by  a  dense  growth  of  its  seedlings." 

This  is  a  pretty  good  showing  for  that  side  of  the  mountains;  let  us 
trace  its  westward  migrations,  and  look  at  its  deportment  on  tne  other 
slope,  in  the  valleys  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  Ohio,  the  Mississippi,  and 
the  Missouri,  the  Platte  and  the  Ka\v  rivers,  for,  with  the  men  of  the 
East,  this  south-eastern  tree  has  also  followed  the  Star  of  Empire,  reach- 
ing out  into  the  borders  of  what  used  to  be  called  the  Great  American 
Desert,  or  what  is  now  more  appropriately  named,  smiling  Kansas. 

At  Rochester,  New  York,  it  is  not  considered  perfectly  hardy,  for  it 
"suffers  in  severe  winters,"  as  reported  by  Mr.  William  Barry;  though 
it  lives,  grows  finely,  and  perfects  its  seed,  by  which  it  has  been  identified 
and  distinguished  from  the  western  form. 

At  Painesville,  in  the  north-eastern  part  of  Ohio,  Mr.  J.  J.  Harrison 
says  his  trees  have  not  suffered,  but  appear  to  be  hardy,  perhaps  pro- 
tected by  the  lake  influence.  His  plants  were  imported  from  France, 
and  the  fruit  and  seed  bear  a  close  resemblance  to  those  received  direct 
from  Georgia  and  Alabama,  where,  it  is  most  probable,  M.  Michaux  ob- 
tained the  seeds  he  sent  home  to  France,  whence  their  progeny  have 
nowr  been  returned  to  us. 

In  the  north-western  part  of  this  State,  however,  at  Toledo,  Ohio,  as 
reported  by  Prof.  E.  W.  E.  Koch,  the  catalpa  is  killed  to  the  ground  al- 
most every  winter.  All  through  the  southern  part  of  this  State,  and  in 
the  adjoining  portions  of  Pennsylvania,  West  Virginia,  and  Kentucky, 
the  tree  survives,  and  thrives,  though  in  the  middle  range  of  counties. 
and  generally  on  the  parallel  of  40  degrees  and  northward,  the  young- 
plants  are  sometimes  cut  to  the  ground.  A  similar  report  may  be  made 
for  Michigan,  for  Northern  Indiana,  and  Illinois,  for  Wisconsin,  for  lov.a. 
Nebraska,  and  for  Kansas,  at  least  North  of  the  Kaw  River,  as  well  as 
for  the  North  part  of  Missouri,  and  even  in  St.  Louis,  in  latitude  36.37, 
where  thousands  of  this  kind  of  catalpa  are  to  be  seen  in  the  streets  and 
parks,  it  is  reported,  upon  the  best  authority,  that  they  have  suffered  in 
severe  winters. 

Let  us  now  look  at  the  more  satisfactory  record  of  the  Speciosa  Catalpa, 
so  far  as  it  has  been  possible  to  trace  its  history  and  behavior  through 
the  forced  migrations  it  has  made  under  man's 'interfering  agency.  As 
informed  by  Mr.  Jos.  S.  Fay,  of  Massachusetts,  this  tree  was  carried  from 
CincinnatVOhio,  twenty-six  years  ago;  it  has  thriven  and  grown  to  good 
size  at  Fahnouth,  near  the  coast,  and  maintains  its  high  reputation  there. 
Some  other  trees  were  planted  in  the  same  neighborhood  forty-five  years 
ago,  and  have  attained  a  large  size  without  injury. 

Seeds  taken  from  Kentucky  to  Michigan  grow  well,  and  are  perfectly 
hardy  on  sandy  uplands  in  Washtenaw  County,  while  those  on  clay  lands, 
especially  whore  low,  had  been  injured ;  so  writes  Mr.  Joseph  Bennett. 
Some  of 'this  lot  of  trees  were  taken  to  Nebraska,  and  were  planted  on 
the  high  exposed  rolling  prairie,  near  Omaha,  where,  in  the  hands  of 


23 

Mr.  Griffen,  they  have  proved  the  nucleus  of  a  large  group  of  the  Western 
Catalpa  in  that  region.  This  mav,  perhaps,  be  considered  nearly  its 
northern  limit  along  the  Missouri  kiver.  Still  this  tree  may  be  recom- 
mended for  all  the  south-eastern  quarter  of  Nebraska,  if  protected  by 
wind-breaks  of  the  hardy  trees  of  the  country.  It  appeared  to  be  per- 
fectly hardy  on  the  grounds  of  Governor  Furnas,  at  Brownville. 

The  existence  of  the  Speciosa  Catalpa  at  Dayton,  Ohio,  has  already 
been  referred  to;  there  indeed  it  is  historical;  it  is  also  found  to  be  hardy 
in  Columbus,  the  capital,  and  in  other  places  on  the  same  parallel  where 
the  eastern* kind  has  suffered  to  some  extent. 

In  Fort  AVayne,  Indiana,  the  speciosa  alone  is  reported  as  the  catalpa 
that  will  stand  the  climate.  At  Indianapolis,  as  at  Terre  Haute,  and  all 
along  that  range  it  thrives,  and  is  considered  very  superior  in  habit  and 
hardiness  to  the  eastern  kind. 

In  all  Illinois,  North  of  the  Illinois  River  at  LaSalle,  the  speciosa  is  the 
only  kind  that  can  be  recommended  as  hardy.  It  was  introduced  by  the 
venerable  tree-planter.  Arthur  Bryant.  Sen'.,  who  gathered  the  seeds  at 
New  Madrid  in  ls:'J«),  planted  them' at  Princeton,  and  lias  ever  since1  been 
propagating  and  distributing  these  trees.  He  rinds  them  perfectly  hardy 
where  the  eastern  kind  has  succumbed  to  the  winters.  The  noble  tree 
in  his  door-yard  is  a  beautiful  specimen,  having  grown  from  seed  sown  in 
is:}<),toa  hight  of  forty  or  mire  feet,  \vith  a  beautiful  crown  spreading 
over  an  area  of  equal  extent,  and  supported  by  an  erect  shaft  that  meas- 
ures almost  three  feet  in  diameter. 

At  Waukegan,  in  the  north-east  corner  of  the  State,  the  speciosa  sur- 
vives, while  some  plants  of  the  eastern  kind  arc.  frequently  killed  to  the 
ground,  and  are  represented  by  a  bunch  of  sprouts  springing  up  from 
the  base  of  the  dead  stein,  rarely  producing  flowers  or  seed. 

At  Galesburgh  and  other  points  on  that  range,  the  trees  of  the  speciosa 
catalpa  thrive  and  do  well;  they  are,  of  course,  highly  appreciated. 

In  Iowa  the  common  kind  was  first  planted.  ( )n  the  grounds  of  Suel 
Foster,  at  Muscatine,  on  the  bluffs  of  the  Mississippi,  in  latitude  41  N., 
they  grew  well  for  awhile,  and  a  lot  of  the  speciosa  variety  was  planted 
beside  them.  The  winter  of  IS.Vi  and  '5(>  proved  a  crucial' test,  as  in  the 
following  spring  these  were  perfectly  sound,  while  the  common  kind  were 
all  killed;  then  and  there  was  the  survivor  christened  The  Hardy  Catalpa, 
and  since  that  time  it  alone  has  been  selected  by  the  intelligent  planters 
of  that  State,  who  claim  that  it  is  perfectly  hardy  even  beyond  latitude 
\'2  degrees,  in  the  bleak  climate  of  their  open  prairies. 

Having  now  traced  the  migrations  of  these  two  trees,  noted  their  be- 
havior, and  learned  their  relative  hardiness  over  a  wide  extent  of  coun- 
try, further  discussion  is  deemed  unnecessary,  and  the  intelligent  tree- 
planter  may  be  left  to  his  own  judgment  in  the  selection  of  trees  for  his 
groves. 

(,»(   ALITY    OF    THE    LUMBER    AND     I'sKS. 

Little  need  here  be  added  to  the  mass  of  facts  collected  by  Mr.  Barney, 
and  which  have  already  been  presented  to  the  public,  to  prove  that  this 
lumber  is  possessed  of  great  economic  value,  and  yet  it  maybe  well  tore- 
port  some  observations  in  support  of  the  statements  that  have  been  made. 

The  wood  of  the  catalpa  is  liurht.  and  yet  sufficiently  strong,  and  it  i> 
hard  enough  for  most  purposes  of  construction.  It  has  been  highly 
approved  for  bridge-timbers  where  it  was  exposed  to  the  weather;  it  has 
been  the  favorite  material  for  fence  posts  in  a  large  tract  of  country;  it 
has  been  used,  in  the  absence  of  stone,  for  the  foundation  supports  of 
buildings;  it  has  been  found  an  admirable  material  for  covering -build- 
ings as  shingles,  and  it  takes  a  good  surface  to  receive  a  beautiful  polish. 


24 

with  a  sufficiently  varied  grain  or  figure  to  make  it  a  desirable  wood  for 
the  inside  finish  of  our  houses. 

Dr.  ,1.  Schneck,  the  botanist  of  the  Lower  AVabash,  writes,  that  though 
the  trees  were  formerly  very  abundant  and  sometimes  very  large,  the 
supply  is  now  becoming  exhausted,  on  account  of  its  high  repute  for  skiff 
building  and  other  purposes,  especially  for  posts,  it  is  in  such  demand 
that  it  is  carried  to  considerable  distances,  and  very  often  stolen  and 
carried  off  by  night.  So  in  most  of  the  Delta  region  that  has  been  visited, 
the  trees  which  are  accessible,  have  been  nearly  exhausted ;  this  is  an 
evidence  of  its  high  appreciation  by  the  people. 

On  the  St.  Louis  and  Iron  Mountain  Railroad,  a  y>art  of  which  runs 
through  this  alluvial  region,  there  is  a  section  near  Charleston,  Missouri, 
where  a  portion  of  the  track  was  laid  eleven  years  ago  on  catalpa  cross- 
ties,  which  are  yet  sound,  while  the  oak  ties  near  them  have  been  twice 
renewed.  Some  of  the  fence-posts  along  side  the  road,  presumably  of 
oak,  have  already  needed  replacing. 

Mr.  David  Axtel,  the  intelligent  engineer,  in  charge  of  this  part  of  the 
road,  reports  that  catalpa  holds  the  spikes  sufficiently  well,  and  he  said 
that  when  the  ties  had  suffered  from  mashing  after 'this  long  use,  they 
were  not  rejected,  but  turned  over  so  as  to  present  a  new  bearing  for 
the  rail.  Some  that  had  been  thrown  out  by  the  trackmen  were  eagerly 
appropriated  by  them  as  garden  fence-posts  where  they  bid  fair  to  render 
good  service  for  many  years. 

Near  New  Madrid,  in  the  same  region,  there  are  many  fence-posts 
which  have  stood  and  remained  perfectly  sound  for  long  terms  of  years, 
twenty,  thirty  and  forty,  or  perhaps  more,  as  their  value  has  been  known 
since  the  settlement  of  the  country.  The  story  of  the  catalpa  trees  still 
standing  in  the  water  where  they  were  killed  by  the  submergence  of  the 
earthquake  in  1811,  which  has  been  looked  upon  as  a  traveler's  tale,  may 
now  be  fully  confirmed  by  occular  demonstration.  In  those  lagoons 
may  yet  be  seen  the  broken  shafts  of  noble  trees  that  were  then  killed. 
All  other  species  of  trees  that  were  submerged  by  the  same  catastrophe 
have  crumbled  with  decay  and  have  fallen  into  the  water  long  years  ago, 
but  these  grim  monuments  of  that  event  still  remain  as  silent  memorials 
of  the  disturbance  of  level  which  caused  their  death — and  there  have 
they  stood  defying  the  elements  and  resisting  the  tooth  of  time  for  nearly 
three-fourths  of  a  century,  during  which  many  of  the  finest  have  been 
cut  and  removed  for  economic  purposes. 

The  peculiar  ligneous  structure  of  the  catalpa  is  too  important  to  be 
ignored,  for  though  there  be  no  sensible  qualities  in  the  wood  to  preserve 
it  from  the  attacks  of  insects  and  from  decay,  it  is  known  to  be  very 
durable  and  it  must  be  possessed  of  some  antiseptic  properties  that  escape 
the  senses  and  remain  to  be  detected  by  scientific  investigations.  There 
is  however  a  physical  constitution  that  uin  be  noted  by  the  common 
observer;  this  consists  in  the  remarkably  small  amount  of  alburnum  or 
sap-wood,  that  part  of  all  trees  which  is  most  subject  to  decay.  In  these 
lives  the  sap  is  reduced  to  the  minimum,  beinjr  only  one  or  at  most  two 
layers  of  woody  fiber,  while  all  within -consists  of  duramen  or  heart-wood. 

This  fact  makes  the  timber  especially  valuable  for  railway  construction, 
because  a  stick  of  twelve  or  more  inches  diameter,  instead  of  beiny; 
hewed  into  the  usual  shape,  may  be  split  or  sawed  into  two  ties,  which 
have  the  maximum  extent  of  bearing  for  the  rail,  and,  having  only  the 
bark  and  a  thin  layer  subject  to  decay,  when  laid  with  its  convex  surface 
next  the  soil,  the  tie  is  in  the  best  position  for  tamping. 

There  are  many  subordinate  purposes  to  which  this  lumber  may  very 
advantageously  be  applied.  It  will  be  particularly  desirable  for  all  situa- 
tions where  wood  is  to  be  used  in  contact  with  humidity  in  the  soil — such 
as  wooden  drains  and  culverts.  It  has  been  found  verv  durable  when 


25 

used  at?  vine  props;  in  the  vineyard,  and  as  stakes  for  supporting  the 
riders  of  our  worm-fences.  It  will  prove  very  valuable  on  account  of 
its  durability,  if  used  for  the  permanent  label  tallies  of  the  nurserymen. 
Add  to  this  its  lightness,  and  the  thinnings  after  six  years'  growth  may 
be  \vell  utili/ed  as  poles  in  the  Imp-yards. 

PBOPAGATKWS 

The  multiplication  of  the  tree  is  very  easily  accomplished.  Though  it 
has  been  grown  from  cuttings  and  layers,  the  better  mode  is  to  sow  the 
seeds.  The  pods  should  be  collected  after  the  fall  of  the  leaf,  when  suf- 
ficiently dry,  and  before  the  seeds  fall  from  the  opening  valves.  They 
should  be  stored  in  a  dry  place,  and  may  very  easily  be  threshed  or 
tramped  out  at  any  time  during  the  winter,  and  the  seed  separated  from 
the  piths'and  shells.  It  must  be  secured  from  the  mice. 

The  seeds  should  not  be  planted  until  the  earth  is  warm  and  well  pre- 
pared. They  may  then  be  rather  thinly  strown  in  shallow  drills,  about 
an  inch  or  two  apart,  with  sufficient  intervening  space,  for  cultivation  be- 
tween the  rows;  the  covering  of  the  see* Is  should  be  light,  from  a  quarter 
to  half  an  inch,  according  to  the  present  and  probable  amount  of  mois- 
ture in  the  seed-bed.  They  vegetate  at  once,  and  will  need  to  be  kept 
clear  of  weeds  and  <rrass  while  small,  but  their  broad  foliage  soon  over- 
comes all  intruders. 

The  leaves  fall  with  the  tirst  frost,  and  so  soon  as  the  tips  have  harden- 
ed oh",  it  is  well  to  take  up  the  plants  with  a  spade  or  with  the  small  tree- 
digger  plow,  and  they  are  ready  for  storing  in  cellars,  or  they  may  be 
snugly  heeled-in  out  doors,  unless  immediately  shipped  or  planted  out  in 
their  permanent  stations.  It  is  most  desirable  at  this  time  to  assort  the 
seedlings  according  to  their  si/e,  so  that  all  of  equal  vigor  maybe  planted 
together  and  make  an  even  growth  in  the  grove. 

PLANTATIONS. 

Having  made  a  propel'  selection  of  The  variety,  no  one  need  hesitate 
attempting  si  plantation  of  the  catalpa  tree  within  the  limits  that  have 
been  pointed  out.  Though  in  its  native  habitats  the  tree  is  found  in  the 
richest  bottom  lands  of  our  rivers,  it  seems  to  thrive  equally  well  on  the 
uplands  and  on  soils  of  very  different  texture  and  constitution,  when 
planted  singly  or  in  avenues,  and,  so  far  as  we  can  yet  judge  from  limited 
observations  in  the  artificial  groves,  which  have  been  seen  in  very  differ- 
ent situations. 

The  question  of  grouping  or  mingling  of  species  arises  with  this,  as 
with  every  other  tree,  nor  have  we  yet  had  sufficient  experience  to  de- 
cide whether  the  catalpa  should  be  massed  alone  or  mingled  with  other 
kinds,  but  the  brief  experience  already  had  would  induce  a  conclusion 
in  favor  of  the  former  plan.  "Because  of  the  rapid  growth  and  of  the 
I") road  foliage  of  these  young  trees,  and  perhaps  because  of  their  odor, 
other  trees  do  not  thrive  with  them.  Several  experiments  instituted 
for  a  solution  of  this  problem  are  now  in  progress,  and  seem  to  show  that 
most  other  species  will  die  out  when  crowded  among  these,  being  unable 
to  compete  successfully  for  air  and  light. 

In  the  prairie  countries,  where  this  tree  will  be  largely  planted  fora 
supply  of  ties,  posts,  and  other  timber,  land  should  be  selected  that  is 
deep  and  rich,  and  such  as  has  already  been  in  cultivation  for  one  or 
more  crops.  This  should  be  well  plowed  in  the  fall,  and  may  then  at 
once  be  planted,  or  left  to  lie  fallow  over  winter.  Where  practicable,  the 
former  course  is  recommended,  as  the  soil  is  generally  in  better  condition 
then  than  in  spring. 
4 


26 

The  planting  is  a  simple  affair;  after  the  surface  has  been  marked  out 
with  furrows  four  feet  apart,  the  little  trees  are  dropped  every  three  or 
four  feet,  or  at  the  intersections  of  the  check-rows  if  the  furrows  cross ; 
the  planters  follow  at  once  with  spades,  setting  them  in  the  furrows  and 
tramping  the  mellow  soil  about  the  roots.  As  the  rows  are  set  a  cne- 
horse  turning  plow  should  follow  to  bank  them  up  slightly. 

In  the  fall-planting  this  furrow  may  be  made -rat her  heavy  so  as  to  pro- 
tect the  little  plants  during  the  winter  from  heaving  by  tlio  frost.  This 
bank  of  earth  needs  to  be  harrowed  down  in  the  spring  before  the  buds 
have  started,  and  this  cultivation  will  destroy  a  multitude  of  weeds  that 
are  springing  from  the  soil.  Cultivation  should  be  continued  at  intervals 
during  the  summer,  so  as  to  keep  the  ground  clear  and  mellow,  which 
will  also  encourage  the  growth  of  the  plants. 

If  some  of  the  little  trees  be  crooked  or  branched,  be  not  concerned, 
for,  during  the  winter  or  very  early  in  the  following  spring,  they  may  all 
be  cut  off  together  near  the  surface  of  the  ground,  to  secure  *a  strong, 
thrifty  and  even  growth  the  next  summer,  when,  if  they  have  been  well 
cultivated  up  to  July,  the  result  will  be  most  gratifying  and  encouraging. 
There  should  be  an  even  stand  of  sturdy  trees,  averaging  not  more  than 
four  feet  apart,  and  reaching  a  hight  of  five  or  six  or  more  feet,  covered 
with  broad  foliage,  so  completely  shading  the  ground  that  no  further  cul- 
tivation will  be  needed,  beyond  cutting  out  a  weed  here  and  there  during 
the  next  season. 

The  after  treatment  will  consist  in  the  occasional  cutting  back  of  a  tree 
that  may  have  been  bent  with  the  wind  when  wet,  while  the  succulent 
stem  was  soft  before  the  deposit  of  woody  fiber  in  the  young  shoots. 

Owing  to  the  peculiar  arrangement  of 'the  leaves  and  their  buds,  the 
natural  habit  of  this  plant  is  to  throw  out  two  or  three  shoots  from  the 
top  of  the  stem  which  will  make  a  low-branched  tree,  and  close  planting- 
is  the  more  necessary  to  aid  in  preventing  such  a  result.  Occasionally  it 
may  be  advisable  to  cut  back  all  but  one  for  a  leader,  but  when  planted 
sufficiently  close  the  forces  of  nature  will  generally  check  and  destroy 
all  superfluous  growths,  and  produce  tall,  straight  trees. 

THINNING. — This  may  become  necessary  in  the  coming  years;  but, 
"sufficient  to  the  day.'"'  In  the  limited  experience  and  observation  of 
artificial  groves,  so  far,  this  work  appears  to  be  in  a  fair  way  of  being  exe- 
cuted by  the  forces  of  nature,  without  the  necessity  for  human  interfer- 
ence. 

INSECTS. 

The  almost  universal  testimony  in  regard  to  the  catalpa  tree,  and  often 
cited  in  its  favor  by  amateur  cultivators,  is  that  it  is  not  troubled  by  in- 
sects. These  pests'  have  not  been  known  to  attack  either  the  foliage  or 
the  woody  fiber  of  those  which  are  cultivated  in  this  latitude. 

Wherever  grown,  the  wood  that  has  fallen  under  the  writer's  notice  is 
entirely  free  from  all  traces  of  injury  or  invasion  by  the  larvae  of  beetles 
or  other  insects. 

But  the  fruit,  particularly  the  pith  of  the  pods,  has  been  found  dis- 
organized and  consequently  the  seeds  were  defective.  This  injury  is 
supposed  to  be  caused  by  the  larva  of  a  small  fly — species  unknown. 

In  its  native  habitats,  both  western  and  southern,  the  foliage  is  eaten 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  strip  the  trees  at  mid-summer.  This  is  done  by  a 
large  greenish  naked  caterpillar.  On  all  the  southern  streams  this'  is 
known  to  the  fishermen  as  the  favorite  bait  for  catching  bream;  one  cor- 
respondent described  them  as  becoming  six  inches  long  at  full  growth. 

Dr.  J.  Schneck,  of  Mt.  Carmel,  Illinois,  cites  the  ravages  of  this  cater- 
pillar'as^one^reason  why  the  tree  has  not  been  cultivated  in  that  region, 


It  is  quite  common  upon  the  trees  about  Vincennes,  Indiana,  and  it 
has  migrated  to  those  at  Flora,  Illinois  forty -three  miles  west,  where 
eatalpas  \\ere  planted  by  Mr.  L.  B.  Parsons,  President  of  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  Railway,  who  was  unwilling  to  have  the  trees  ruined,  and 
destroyed  the  insects  by  applying  Paris  (Ireen  and  water  with  a  garden 
syringe. 

After  seeking  for  sometime  in  vain  for  information  as  to  the  scientific 
classification  of  this  insect,  which  is  entirely  unknown  to  our  region,  the 
needful  information  was  promptly  supplied  by  Professor  C.  V.  Riley, 
United  States  Entomologist  at  Washington.  District  of  Columbia,  who 
identified  it  as  the  Sjjftiiu:  CataJpa,  of  Boisduval.  He  says  it  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  of  the  tribe. 

The  accounts  of  the  Rooky  Mountain  Locusts'  behavior  when  meeting 
eatalpas  on  the  plains,  are  quite  contradictory,  some  correspondents  de- 
clare that  the  hoppers  give  this  plant  a  wide  berth,  while  others  say  that 
they  luxuriate  upon  the  succulent  leaves,  and  then  eat  the  bark  and 
even  the  wood  fiber  of  young  plants. 

Before  concluding  this  report,  it  may  be  well  to  remind  the  reader  that 
pains  have  been  taken  to  point  out  that  we  have  in  America  two  dis- 
tinct catalpa  trees,  one  of  which  appears  to  be  peculiarly  western,  and 
that  it  is  possessed  of  qualities  that  especially  adapt  it  to  our  use  in  form- 
ing artificial  groves  for  economical  purposes.  It  is  superior  in  its  habit 
and  in  its  hardiness.  The  timber  of  one  may  be  equally  durable  as  that 
of  the  other,  and  may  resemble  it  in  every  particular,  and  yet  the  tree- 
planter  may  ask  which  will  be  more  available  for  his  purpose,  when  he 
undertakes  to  grow  the  trees  for  practical  application  in  the  arts. 

Having  distinctly  set  forth  the  differences  that  exist  between  them, 
the  writer  leaves  every  one  to  make  his  own  selection,  but  he  desires  to 
impress  upon  the  readers  the  propriety  of  their  trying  other  trees  in  plan- 
tations, also,  and  not  to  expect  all  excellence  in  any  one  kind.  We  have 
a  noble  sylva,  a  rich  inheritance  of  trees  of  many  kinds,  with  properties 
that  adapt  them  to  the  various  requirements  of  the  arts  of  civilization, 
and  with  characters  and  constitutions  that  adapt  them  to  various  soils, 
climates  and  elevations.  Some  are  peculiarly  adapted  to  almost  every 
portion  of  our  extended  country. 

Think  not,  that  we,  who  have  been  so  much  interested  in  the  catalpa, 
and  who  have  so  warmly  introduced  it  to  you,  would  recommend  you  to 
plant  nothing  else;  far  from  it,  we  plant  many  kinds  and  we  advise  you. 
and  all  others,  to  use  your  own  good  judgment  in  the  selection  of  the 
several  kinds  that  may  be,  and  such  as  are  supposed  to  be,  best  adapted 
to  your  own  conditions. 

Perhaps  in  the  rich  prairies  of  the  west  you  may  prefer  to  plant  the 
Cotton-woods,  ftox-olders,  White-willows,  and  similar  trees  of  their  class; 
plant  them,  then,  only  plant  trees;  you  will  have  the  benefit  of  their 
shade,  shelter  and  fuel,  and  with  these  you  have  a  preparation  for  more 
extended  sylviculture  with  a  more  extended  range  of  varieties.  In  such 
situations,  you  may  feel  assured  that  no  trees  will  be  likely  to  nuike 
quicker  returns  nor  of  greater  pecuniary  value,  than  the  one  "which  has 
now  been  presented  for  your  consideration  —  The  Western  or  Hardy 
Catalpa. 

The  greatest,  the  largest  and  most  extensive  plantations  of  forest  trees 
in  our  country  must  be  made  by  the  great  railway  corporations.  Thev 
will  always  need  supplies  for  maintaining  their  lines;  they  can  furnish 
the  necessary  transportation  from  the  several  points  of  production  to 
those  of  consumption,  and  very  many  of  them  are  at  present  the  greatest 
land  holders.  Surely  ii  is  incumbent  upon  them  to  take  a  deep  interest 
in  everything  that  relates  to  the  subject  of  forestry,  which  will  ere  long 


exert  no  small  influence  in  the  development  of  their  immense  domains, 
all  which  will  retro-act  upon  the  interests  of  their  business. 

The  managers  of  many  of  these  corporations  do  seem  to  appreciate  the 
importance  of  tree-planting,  and  some  have  even  begun  operations  along 
their  lines  upon  a  scale  commensurate  (as  initiative  steps)  to  the  great 
interest  involved, — in  these  noble  efforts  they  are  congratulated.  The 
liberality  which  has  been  extended  toward  one  who  has  recently  traveled 
extensively  in  the  investigation  of  the  catalpa,  is  hereby  thankfully  ac- 
knowledged— with  the  well-founded  hope,  however,  that  while  he  has 
labored  willingly  and  without  expectation  of  reward,  the  favors  of  these 
corporations  will  be  amply  repaid  to  them,  if  they  do  but  put  into  prac- 
tice the  suggestions  so  freely  offered  by  their  friend. 


Contributed  by  request  of  Mr.  E.  E.  Barney,  the  disinterested  patron  of 
a  useful  tree,  by  one  who  has  long  known  it,  who  stood  sponsor  for  it  in 
1853,  and  whose  more  intimate  acquaintance  only  hightens  his  admira- 
tion for  its  excellent  qualities. 

JOHN  A.  WARDER,  M.  D., 

Pretft  Am.  Forestry  Association. 
NORTH  BEND,  OHIO,  Feb.  25,  1879. 


INTERESTING    LETTERS. 


RALSTON  STATION,  TEN.V,   Feb.   1st,   1879. 
E.  E.  BARNEY,  Dayton,  O., 

Dear  Sir:  Your  letter  came  duly  to  hand,  and  in  reply  would  say  that 
time  alone  can  tell  how  long  the  catalpa  wood  used  here  will  last;  posts 
that  were  planted  when  the  country  was  first  settled,  in  1810  to  1830,  are 
yet  sound,  and  show  no  sign  of  decay.  If  there  are  two  varieties,  there 
is  but  one  here,  at  least  I  have  never'  seen  but  one  kind — the  black  bark 
variety,  or  Speciosa,  as  some  call  it.  It  grows  abundantly*along  the  Obion 
River,  attaining  a  girth  of  sixty  to  ninety  inches,  and  sixty  to  seventy- 
five  feet  high.  In  open  situations  it  does  not  grow  so  tall,  but  often 
reaches  the  height  of  forty  feet,  with  a  clear  trunk  of  twenty  feet;  among 
other  timber  they  will  be  clear  of  limbs  three-fourths  their  height;  have 
never  seen  one  but  what  would  split  straight,  at  least  comparatively  so. 
Their  peculiar  habit  is  in  rich  river  soil  subject  to  overflow,  but  will  grow 
on  our  high  ridge  lands,  and  will  make  astonishing  growth.  I  have  a 
specimen  block  from  a  tree  fourteen  years  old,  fourteen  inches  in  diame- 
ter. It  is  strictly  a  forest  tree,  and  is  used  for  posts  almost  exclusively. 
All  the  finest  specimens  have  long  since  been  used  up,  but  nearly  every 
stump  has  thrown  up  sprouts,  some  of  them  are  now  ten  to  twelve  inches 
in  diameter,  and  forty  to  sixty  feet  high.  During  the  month  of  July  it  is 
attacked  by  a  large  black  worm,  perfectly  harmless  in  its  nature  but  a  re- 
pulsive looking  creature.  If  the  tree  is  isolated  it  will  often  be  completely 


29 

denuded  of  foliage,  but,  along  the  river,  often  one-half  the  trees  escape 
their  ravages  entirely.  Here  people  care  nothing  about  cultivating  the 
catalpa,  our  ridge  lands  furnishing  an  abundance  of  first-class  post  oak. 

But  those  living  in  the  prairie  States  are  greatly  in  their  own  light  if 
they  do  not  plant  extensively  of  the  catalpa.  Its  growth  is  extremely 
rapid,  ami  its  durability  is  beyond  question;  and,  when  grown  close  to- 
gether, ought  to  make  the  finest  of  timber  trees.  If  one  wants  a  shade 
tree,  there  is  none  more  beautiful ;  if  a  post  is  wanted  that  will  last  for- 
ever, and  then  turn  to  stone,  the  catalpa  will  come  nearer  filling  the  bill 
than  anything  else. 

Yours  respectfully,  F.  P.  HYNDS. 


PORT  LAV.U'A,  CALHOI:X  Co.,  TEXAS,   Feb.  5,  '79. 
E.   E.   BARNEY  : 

Dear  Sir:  I  planted  the  catalpa  seed  I  received  of  you  last  of  March, 
very  late  for  this  latitude,  still  they  grew  from  two  to  seven  feet.  I  trans- 
planted them  in  nine  months,  and  yet  the  roots  were  so  long,  many  of 
them  four  to  five  feet,  that  I  shall  hereafter  plant  where  I  want  the  trees 
to  stand,  and  thin  out  while  very  young,  and  replant  where  I  wish  them 
to  stand.  If  I  had  let  them  remain  till  second  year,  I  should  have  had  a 
hard  job  to  remove  them.  I  think  the  catalpa  is  just  what  we  need  here 
where  timber  is  so  scarce.  D.  W.  HATCH. 


The  Roadmaster  of  the  Missouri  River,  Fort  Scott  tfr  Gulf 
R.  R.  makes  the  following  report  of  trees  planted;  report  dated 

October  14,  IS?*: 

During  November,  1S77,  the  following  varieties  were  set  out: 

Catalpas,  :'»  years  old,  150  set  out.  Now  living,  150;  are  looking  well, 
but  have  made  small  growth. 

Catalpas,  J  year  old.  2,928  set  out, — 2, 700  living;  have  grown  3  to  4  feet 
and  look  thrifty. 

Blaek  walnut,  L'.x:><)  set  out;  l,(iOO  living;  look  sickly  and  have  made 
slow  progress. 

Chestnut,  2,050  set  out,  1,214  living;  look  badly. 

Cherry,  1,000  set  out;  BOO  living;  do  not  look  well;  have  grown  but 
little. 

White  ash,  15,000  set  out ;  9,472  living;  have  grown  6  inches,  but  do  not 
look  thrifty. 

DFRIXG   1S7S. 

Box  elder,  2  years  old,  1,012  set  out;  944  living;  have  grown  12  inches. 

White  walnut,  2  years  old,  1,010  set  out;  791  living;  growth  2  inches; 
not  looking  well. 

Catalpa,  2  years  old,  2,600  set  out;  2,449  living;  have  grown  on  an 
average  .">  feet ;  look  well. 

Catalpas,  1  year  old,  S,:>55  set  out;  8,100  living;  have  grown  on  an  aver- 
age 2J  feet;  look  thrifty. 

Pecan,  yearlings,  1,000  set  out;  <>41  living;  have  grown  f>  inches;  look 
well. 

Osage  orange,  yearlings,  18,000  set  out;  18,100  living;  have  grown  ti 
inches  and  look  well. 

F.vergreens,  410  set  out;  50  black  spruce  living;  grown  5  inches;  look- 
ing well. 


no 

A  hedge  <>f  Osage  orange  \vas  planted  around  the  entire  section,  and  is 
doing  well. 

The  catalpas  have  made  the  greatest  improvement,  especially  the  year- 
lings, and  in  my  judgment  it  is  economy  in  time  and  expense  to  plant 
none  older  than  one  year.  The  Qsage  orange  tree  does  very  well  in  this 
climate,  but  is  of  slow  growth. 

I  planted  seeds  enough  last  Spring  to  grow  30,000  plants;  5,000  came  to 
maturity,  and  have  grown  from  one  to  four  feet. 

European  larch  all  dead;  do  not  think  they  will  prosper  in  this  climate. 

The  box  elders  look  well,  but  I  do  not  know  that  they  are  of  much 
value  when  grown. 

The  catalpa  has  certainly  proved  to  be  the  strongest  grower  and  most 
tenacious,  standing  the  dry  weather  better  than  other  varieties,  and  at 
present  rate  will  come  to  maturity  years  before  other  varieties  are  of  suf- 
ficient size  to  be  of  any  utility. 

The  evergreens  planted  were  too  large,  being  3  to  4  feet  high,  and  the 
wind  having  such  pressure  on  the  large  foliage,  caused  them  to  become 
loose  in  the  ground,  which  allowed  the  air  to  circulate  around  the  roots, 
thereby  killing  them. 

A  limited  number  of  ornamental  trees  would  be  desirable,  and  I  think 
if  very  small  ones  were  set  out  they  would  thrive. 

(Signed)  J.  M.  BUCKLEY,  R.  M. 

George  H.  Nettleton,  Receiver  of  the  road,  writes  that  in 
November  last,  128,000  more  trees,  purchased  by  the  president 
of  tbe  road,  were  being  planted ;  of  these,  100,000  were  catalpa, 
of  the  early  blooming,  Speciosa,  or  hardy  variety. 


CATALPA  IN  ICE. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Prairie  Farmer,  writing  from  Stillson,  Cherokee 
County,  Kansas,  says  that  region  has  been  visited  by  a  severe  storm  that 
loaded'  all  the  trees  with  ice.  Many  trees  and  shrubs,  too  tender  to 
"stand  the  pressure,"  broke  beneath 'the  enormous  weight  of  ice.  "In 
the  forests,"  says  the  writer,  "the  Lombardy  poplars  arid  the  cotton 
woods  suffered  the  most;  they  are  badly  broken.  The  ground  is  well 
strewn  with  their  tops  and  branches.  The  maples  being  more  elastic, 
would  bend  without  breaking.  Some  of  them,  twenty  feet  high,  bent 
until*  their  tops  touched  the  ground.  A  row  of  Lombardy  poplars  along 
the  road-side  were  so  stripped  of  their  branches  and  tops  that  they  looked 
more  like  telegraph  poles  than  trees.  The  catalpa  seemed  to  be  the  only 
tree  that  escaped  the  injury.  The  weight  of  ice  seemed  to  have  no  effect 
on  them.  They  neither  break  nor  bend,  in  my  forest,  where  they  have 
grown  tall  and 'straight;  they  stand  perfectly  upright,  while  the  trees  all 
around  them  are  bent  or  broken.  The  power  to  stand  up  under  such  a 
great  weight  of  ice  is  another  thing  that  will  recommend  them  as  a  tim- 
ber tree." 


The  following  letter  from  1).  Axtell,  Sup't  of  the  Missouri 
Division  of  the  St.  Louis,  Iron  Mountain  cv;  Southern  Railway, 
is  of  much  interest : 

CHARLKSTOX,   Mo.,    Ffh.   /,',  '79. 
E.  E.  BARNEY: 

Dear  N/'r:  There  is  nothing  to  indicate  that  the  catalpa  tics  in  our 
track,  near  Charleston,  Mo.,  do  not  hold  spikes  sufficiently  well.  Nearly 
all  the  spikes  are  in  the  same  holes  originally  made  when  driving  them, 


31 

over  ten  years  ago.  There  has  been  no  spreading  of  the  track.  I  have 
examined  the  fe\v  ties  the  rails  have  settled  into,  and  find  none  that  will 
not  last  for  a  number  of  years  yet  by  turning  them  over.  These  ties  are 
six  to  eight  inches  face.  '  If  they  were  wider,  as  you  suggest,  there  would 
he  more  resistance  to  crushing.'  With  the  joint  fastenings  now  in  use,  I 
see  no  objections  to  making  ties,  as  you  propose,  from  logs  twelve  inches 
or  more  in  diameter,  by  sawing  them  through  the  middle  ami  placing  the 
round  side  do\vn.  The  bearing  surface  would  thus  be  increased  50  to  100 
per  cent. 

The  section  of  catalpa  log*  sent  you  was  from  a  tree  lying  on  the  ground 
in  a  swam]),  on  a  place  owned  by  Mr.  Henson,  seven  miles  from  Charles- 
ton. Mr.  II.  says  when  he  moved  on  the  place  forty  years  ago,  the  tree 
was  lying  on  the  ground  and  looked  as  old  as  it  does  now.  He  says  it 
must  have  then  been  lying  there  at  least  ten  years,  and  probably  very 
much  longer. 

Mr.  Henson  recently  made  three  hundred  and  thirty  fence  posts  from 
one  catalpa  tree.  He  also  got  some  good  split  posts  from  eatalpa  trees  six 
years  old.  Yours  respectfully, 

I).  AXTELL. 


The  following  letter  from  the  Chicago  Tribmir  of  May  21st, 
1878,  should  be  carefully  read  and  seriously  pondered  by  all 
who  regard  the  future  welfare  of  our  country.  Every  farmer 
who  has  even  forty  acres  of  land  may  do  something,  by  tree 
planting,  to  avert  the  impending  calamity  so  graphically  de- 
scribed : 

POREST-V  ANIMALISM. 

OUR  DEVASTATED  WOODLANDS — A  CANADIAN  MERCHANT  ON  THE  UNITED 
STATES  TIM HER  Sri'i-Lv— VAST  FORESTS  WANTONLY  DESTROYED. 

The  subjoined  letter  wns  received  by  the  Hon.  David  A.  Wells  recently 
fn>m  Mr.  James  1/ttle,  a  prominent  lumber  merchant  of  Montreal.  Mr. 
Little  has  investigated  the  lumber-producing  regions  of  the  United  States, 
and  he  sets  forth  the  result  of  his  investigation  with  clearness  and  candor. 
The  result  as  far  as  the  older  States  are  concerned  is  startling.  Already 
there  are  only  four  States  among  the  twenty-six  North  of  the  old  slim? 
line  and  Kast  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  whose  forests  are  capable  of  sup- 
plying lumber  enough  for  transportation  beyond  the  State  limits.  Mr. 
Little  goes  over  the  ground  thoroughly  in  his  letter,  which  should  com- 
mend itself  for  its  eomlmied  terseness  and  comprehensiveness,  and  for 
the  vital  importance  of  its  subject  to  all  legislators  and  public-spirited 
citizens: 

MOXTUKAI..  Mnii  in.   7,s7,v. 
Tin-:   llox.    DAVID   A.    WKI.I.S: 

N/V:  'Hie  deeji  interrst  you  are  known  to  take  in  the  subject  of  politi- 
cal economy  and  the  freedom  of  trade  induces  me  to  bring  under  your 
notice  what  is,  beyond  dispute,  the  most  important  question  in  relation 

'"This  section  of  acatnlpu  l<>i:.  now  in  my  office,  is  perfectly  sound,  showing  no  signs 
of  decay,  though  it  has  Uud  oij  the  ground  certainly  fifty  years,  possibly  one  hundred. 


32 

to  the  industries,  necessities,  and  well-being  of  your  people  that  has  ever 
been  presented  for  their  consideration,  namely,  the  question  of  the  tim 
ber  supply  and  consumption  of  the  country, — a  matter  in  which  every 
individual,  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  of  your  forty  millions  of  people 
is  interested.  Being  engaged  in  lumbering* — a  business  1  have,  followed 
for  close  on  half  a  century,  mainly  with  the  United  States, — and  witness- 
ing as  I  did  how  rapidly  one  extensive  timber  section  after  another  in 
Western  Ontario,  where  I  operated,  was  stripped  of  its  commercial  woods, 
my  attention  was  necessarily  drawn  to  an  investigation  of  the  sources 
and  extent  of  the  supply  to  meet  the  ever-increasing  consumption  of  both 
the  United  States  and  Canada.  I  now  proceed  to  give  the  result  of  mv 
researches  in  relation  thereto,  so  far  as  the  United  States  are  concerned, 
as  briefly  as  the  subject  will  admit. 

I  find  of  the  twenty-six  States  comprising  the  New  England,  the  Mid- 
dle, the  Western,  and  Northwestern  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  only  four, 
namely,  Maine,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  Minnesota,  are  now  able  to 
furnish  supplies  beyond  their  own  requirements,  and  I  will  now  point 
out  the  condition  these  States  are  reduced  to  touching  their  supply  of 
building-timber,  and  how  long  they  may  be  expected  To  stand  the  drain 
on  their  forests,  at  the  rate  of  consumption  going  on,  of  this  indispensable 
material.  The  State  of  Maine,  which  not  long  since  could  boast  of  most 
extensive  pine  forests,  is  now  all  hut  stripped  of  that  valuable  wood,  and 
is  besides  so  far  denuded  of  its  once-supposed  inexhaustible  supply  of 
spruce  that  the  lumberers  are  forced  to  the  headwaters  and  tributaries 
of  every  river  in  the  State  to  hunt  for  supplies,  and  are  stocking  their 
mills  in  a  large  measure  with  logs  cut  from  sapling  poles  of  from  six  to 
eight  inches  in  diameter,  and  this  reckless  and  wasteful  slaughtering  is 
carried  on  to  such  an  extent  to  supply  the  neighboring  States,  and  for 
shipment  abroad,  that  a  few  years  will  find  the  people  of  that  State  with- 
out building  timber,  either  pine  or  spruce,  for  their  home  consumption . 
The  Northern  sections  of  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  Minnesota  are  the 
only  localities  of  the  whole  twenty-six  States  that  are  able  to  furnish  sup- 
plies of  white  pine  beyond  the  wants  of  their  own  respective  States,  and 
the  demand  on  them"  is  so  heavy  for  all  sections  of  the  country  that  it 
will  not  be  possible  for  them  to  respond  to  it  for  more  than  six  or  seven 
years  longer.  Their  main  streams  are  all  stripped,  and  the  lumberers 
are  now  operating  at  the  head  waters  of  their  tributaries,  where  they  are 
forced  to  bank  many  of  their  logs  in  dry  gullies,  depending  on  theVin- 
ter's  snow  and  spring  rains  to  produce  freshets  sufficient  to  float  them  to 
the  main  streams,  and  which  often  fail,  as  will  be  the  case  with  many  of 
them  this  season,  for  want  of  water  to  move  them  from  where  the  loggers 
have  hauled  them.  A  number  of  railways  have  also  been  built  to  secure 
the  lumber  traffic  of  these  timber  sections;  no  less  than  six  are  now  run- 
ning through  every  patch  of  timber  otherwise  inaccessible  to  the  loggers 
on  the  lower  peninsula  of  Michigan,  hitherto  the  greatest  lumber-supply- 
ing State  of  the  Union,  and  the  mill-owners  themselves  having,  many  of 
them,  exhausted  their  timber  within  team-hauling  distance,  are  busy  at 
work  building  railways  on  their  own  account  to  enable  them  to  reach 
what  are  now  the  outskirts  of  their  once  supposed  inexhaustible  timber 
resources.  And  here  in  these  timber  sections,  and  in  the  positions  I  have 
pointed  out,  is  to  be  found  the  whole  white  pine  supply  for  the  consump- 
tion of  your  whole  country  East  of  the  Pacific  slope,  aiid,  were  the  whole 
of  that  supply  brought  to  one  point,  it  could  all  be  covered  with  the  palm 
of  one's  hand  on  any  ordinary  map  of  the  United  States;  and  yet,  not- 
withstanding this  state  of  the  case,  the  lumberers  keep  slaughtering 
away  as  if  life  depended  on  how  soon  they  could  rob  the  country  of  its 
timber  wealth  and  bring  about  a  timber  famine,  to  the  utter  ruin  of  the 
wood  industries  of  the  countrv,  in  which  everv  member  of  the  com- 


33 

immity  is  deeply  interested.  Not  satisfied  with  the  huvoc  they  an-  mak- 
ing to  keep  their  own  markets  continually  largely  overstocked,  they  have 
also  made  extensive  preparations  by  fitting  up  their  mills  for  the  manu- 
facture of  deals,  to  drive,  as  their  lumber  papers  boast,  they  will,  the 
Canadian  supply  out  of  the  Ihitish  markets,  and  they  are  besides  at  work 
using  up  the  best  of  their  white  pine  in  the  manufacture  of  boardwood 
and  square  timber  for  the  same  markets,  a  course  most  destructive  to  the 
forests.  In  fact,  lighting  the  candle  at  both  ends  would  fail  to  fitly  de- 
scribe the  utter  recklessness  and  folly  of  their  proceedings, — they  are- 
casting  it  bodily  into  the  fire. 

We  have  theories  and  speculations  on  the  forests  as  influencing  the 
rain-fall,  and  their  value  as  reservoirs  to  keep  up  a  supply  of  water  for 
your  rivers,  water-courses,  and  canals,  and  afford  power  for  machinery, 
but  who  has  given  consideration  to  the  consequences  to  your  whole 
country  of  a  dearth  of  timber?  Who  of  your  statesmen  has  given  his 
mind  to  think  on  its  effects  on  the  173,450  industrial  establishments,  and 
the  1,093,202  operatives,  who,  as  shown  by  your  census  returns,  as  far 
back  as  1870,  are  engaged  therein,  providing  your  people  with  the  finished 
wood  materials  so  indispensable  to  their  well  being?  Who  of  the  dele- 
gations from  the  Northwestern  timber  sections,  that  are  now  praying 
Congress  to  prevent  Canada  from  giving  any  assistance  to  prolong  the 
life  of  these  industries,  has  taken  into  account  the  consequences  of  a 
failure  in  their  timber  supply  on  the  settlement  of  your  boundless,  tree- 
less prairie  country,  or  the  deprivations  it  will  entail  on  its  inhabitants, 
and  the  millions  who  are  to  make  it  their  home?  Who  of  your  whole 
people  has  given  himself  the  trouble  to  understand  that  it  would  require 
you  to  raise  $500,000,000  to  send  abroad  to  purchase  an  amount  of  lum- 
ber equal  to  your  present  consumption  for  a  single  year,  or  that  all  the 
tonnage  of  the  whole  world  would  fall  far  short  of  being  able  to  freight 
it  from  your  Pacific  Territories  to  your  Atlantic  seaboard?  The  aggre- 
gated freighting  capacity  of  the  world  is  only  about  18,000,000  of  tons, 
while  the  12, 755,000,000* feet  of  lumber  shown  by  your  census  returns  of 
1870  to  have  been  sawn  in  1869  would  make  a  tonnage  of  21,000,000,  from 
which  it  will  be  seen  that,  without  taking  into  account  the  thousands  of 
millions  of  shingles  and  the  millions  of  feet  of  timber  consumed  at  the 
same  time,  there  is  not  tonnage  enough  in  existence  to  freight  that  single 
item  of  sawn  lumber  alone  around  Cape  Horn,  and  how  inadequate  it 
would  be  to  meet  the  shipping  requirements  for  the  whole  consumption 
of  all  kinds  of  building  timber  and  wood  for  other  industrial  purposes  of 
the  present  day,  and  how  much  more  so  by  the  time  your  present  stock 
is  exhausted,  with  so  many  more  millions  of  consumers  to  be  supplied. 
And  what  have  your  authorities  been  doing  to  meet  this  state  of  things? 
Have'  they  been  making  provision  to  keep  up  the  supply  by  tree-plant- 
ing, as  in  Northern  Europe?  Have  they  been  husbanding  their  forest 
wealth  and  preserving  it  from  spoil  and  waste1?  On  the  contrary,  have 
they  not  been  prodigal  in  their  efforts  to  get  rid  of  it  by  making  presents 
of  it  to  corporations  and  disposing  of  it  for  a  trifle  of  its  value  to  indi- 
vidual speculators— one  of  whom,  in  the  West,  boasting  that  he  owns 
three-fifths  of  the, cork  pine  in  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  Minnesota,  and 
another  in  the  East,  claiming  to  blithe  owner  of  over  500,000  acres  of 
land  selected  for  its  timber  value?  Have  they  not  been  standing  quietly 
by  looking  on  at  the  extensive  robberies  committed  on  the  public  domain 
that  have  been  carried  on  for  years  in  the  South  and  Northwest,  by  which 
not  only  the  home-markets  have  been  kept  largely  overstocked,  to  the 
injury  of  all  legitimate  operators,  but  the  foreign  markets  as  well  have 
been  kept  glutted  to  Mich  an  extent  that  even  the  plunderers  themselves 
received  nothing  for  the  timber,  and  but  little  for  tin,'  labor  expended  in 
preparing  it  for  market?  And  have  they  not.  for  the  sole  benefit  of  these. 

5 


34 

•corporations  and  speculators,  and  to  the  injury  of  every  other  individual 
of  the  community,  been  forcing  Canada  to  find  markets  abroad  for  her 
timber  and  lumber  by  the  imposition  of  duties?  And  are  they  not  even 
now,  with  the  present  condition  of  things  staring  them  in  the  face,  pre- 
paring a  tariff  in  which  the  same  obstructions  are  to  be  continued  to  pre- 
vent this  country  from  giving  assistance  to  mitigate  or  protract  to  any 
^extent  the  impending  deluge  so  soon  to  sweep  over  your  whole  country  ? 

From  the  utter  indifference  and  neglect  with  which  this  momentous 
question  of  the  supply  and  consumption  of  timber  is  treated  by  your 
people,  it  might  be  supposed  you  could  dispense  altogether  with  its  use, 
or  that  you  could  reproduce  it  as  easily  as  raising  a  crop,  or  that  you 
would  have  no  difficulty  in  finding  a  substitute,  but  it  takes  a  century  to 
grow  a  standard  pine  saw-log,  and  if  there  is  a  country  on  earth  in  a  po- 
sition to  do  without  or  find  a  substitute  for  timber,  that  country  is  Great 
Britain,  and  yet  she  increased  her  wood  consumption  at  an  average  rate 
of  10  per  cent,  a  year  for  the  last  ten  years,  and  last  year,  as  shown  by 
her  trade  returns,  it-was  :*>!  per  cent,  more  than  in  1875,  and  the  import 
of  that  island,  not  half  the  area  of  your  State  of  Texas,  and  being,  as  it 
were,  thoroughly  finished  up  throughout  its  whole  extent,  showing  no 
further  room  for  improvements,  amounted  to  no  less  than  $100,000,000. 
But  large  as  that  sum  is,  it  is  comparatively  small  to  what  the  United 
States  will  soon  yearly  be  called  on  to  supply  for  its  own  wood  consump- 
tion, and  it  is  not  a  luxury  that  can  be  thrown  aside  at  will ;  it  is  indis- 
pensable to  the  national  well-being. 

I  know  that  the  impression  prevails,  and  it  is  often  stated  by  interested 
parties,  that  it  matters  little  what  is  the  condition  of  your  supplies,  as 
you  have  but  to  look  to  Canada,  where  can  be  found  "enough  for  the 
most  exacting  populations  of  the  world  for  centuries,"  which  is  the  state- 
ment usually  made  by  those  utterly  ignorant  of  its  true  condition,  or 
those  who  do  so  for  a  purpose ;  and  I  will  here  assert  from  a  personal 
knowledge  of  most  of  the  timber  sections  of  Canada,  and  trustworthy 
reports  from  others,  that  we  nave  not,  from  the  far-off  Province  of  Mani- 
toba to  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  as  much  pine,  spruce,  hemlock,  oak, 
;ash,  elm,  whitewood,  and  other  commercial  woods  as  would  supply  the 
whole  consumption  of  the  United  States  for  a  period  of  three  years,  and 
the  whole  accessible  pine  localities  have  besides  been  run  over  to  such 
an  extent  for  such  pine  and  board  wood  timber  as  would  pay  to  ship, 
that  many  of  our  lumberers  have  been  forced  to  seek  for  these  descrip- 
tions of  wood  goods  to  supply  the  English  demand  in  your  Northwestern 
timber  territories,  where  they  may  now  be  found  cutting  down  on  an 
average  three  trees  to  get  one  stick,  and  leaving  the  others,  from  some 
trifling  defect,  to  rot  in  the  woods, — a  waste  of  this  valuable  material  that 
you  can  ill  afford.  I  will  further  venture  the  prediction  that  the  near 
future  will  reveal  such  a  state  of  things  in  regard  to  the  timber  question 
as  will  bring  your  Government  fully  to  realize  it  would  have  been  a  wise 
policy  on  its  part  to  have  paid  a  bonus  for  the  importation  of  our  lumber, 
if  by  such  means  it  could  have  been  saved  for  the  use  of  your  people, 
than  the  course  it  has  adopted  in  driving  it  away  to  foreign  markets  by 
the  imposition  of  duties  to  any  amount. 

The  first  of  the  timber  famine  Avill  begin  to  be  felt  in  the  next  three  or 
four  years,  and  will  be  fully  reached  throughout  the  Eastern,  Middle, 
Western,  and  Northwestern  States  in  the  short  period  of  six  _or  seven 
years,  if  the  present  wasteful  course  is  kept  up;  and  when  the  pitch  pine 
of  the  South,  a  description  of  wood  unsuited  for  many  purposes,  is  called 
on  to  supply  the  whole  consumption,  all  the  building  and  saw-log  timber 
from  the  Eastern  boundary  of  Maine  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  will  be  swept  away  in  as  short  a  time  as  has  passed  since 


35 

the  close  of  the  war  with  the  South, — a  mere  moment  in  the  future  of 
your  country. 

I  have,  sir,  here.  endeavored  to  give  you  some  idea  of  the  slate  and  ex- 
tent of  your  timber  resources,  and  the  ruinous  consequences  sure  to  fol- 
low and  he  felt  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  your  entire  country 
when  a  failure  in  the  supply  which  a  few  short  years  will  bring  about  is 
reached.  ;md  nm,  sir.  Respectfully  Yours, 

JAMES  IJTTLK. 


I  do  not  think  Mr.  Little  at  all  overestimates  the  annual 
consumption  of  lumber  or  the  rapidity  with  which  our  country 
is  being  denuded  of  its  forests,  or  the  impending  calamity 
resulting  therefrom,  if  no  means  are  taken  to  avert  it.  The 
annual  consumption  of  my  own  manufactory  is  over  10,000,000 
feet,  and  it  is  but  one,  and  by  no  means  the  largest  of  the 
175,000  referred  to  by  him,  over  our  whole  country,  as  consum- 
ing our  forests  all  the  day  long  and  all  the  year  round,  that 
have  been  the  growth  of  the  last  100  to  500  years. 

One  means  of  averting  this  calamity  is  the  extensive  yearly 
planting  of  well  selected  forest  trees.  1  have  urged  the  culti- 
vation of  eatalpa,  believing  it  will  give  the  largest  return  in 
the  shortest  time.  Its  economic  uses  are  more  varied  and 
•extensive  than  any  one  tree  with  which  I  am  acquainted. 

Ff  I  had  a  grove  of  common  catalpa  that  would  not  be  affect* >d 
by  the  frost,  I  should  certainly  let  them  grow.  If  I  wished  to 
plant  a  grove  of  catalpa,  above  or  below  the  frost  line,  I  would 
most  certainly  plant  only  the  Speciosa  variety,  as  clearly 
better  adapted  to  forest  culture. 

1  by  no  means  ignore  the  fact  that  there  are  other  valuable 
trees  for  forest  culture — notably  the  white  walnut  or  butternut, 
black  walnut,  yellow  locust,  red  and  black  mulberry,  Osage 
orange,  ailanthus,  cherry,  ash,  oak,  and  many  others,  of  the 
respective  merits  of  which  I  leave  others  to  speak. 

At  the  time  I  printed  my  first  pamphlet  I  was  under  the 
impression  that  the  examples  of  durability  given  were  mostly, 
if  not  wholly,  common  catalpa.  As  it  became  more  and  more 
apparent,  on  further  investigation,  that  the  Speciosa  variety 
was  much  preferable  lor  forest  planting,  I  felt  it  to  be  of  the 
greatest  importance  to  know,  beyond  any  question,  that  this 
variety  was  equally  durable. 

I  therefore  arranged  with  Mr.  .Jno.  ('.  Teas,  of  Carthage.  Mo., 
a  horticulturist  who  had  been  familiar  with  the  common  and 
Speciosa  variety  for  thirty  years,  to  visit  those  localities  in 
the  West  where  the  catalpa  was  known  to  be  indiginous,  and 
make  a  thorough  investigation  as  to  the  durability  of  the 
Speciosa  and  all  other  matters  of  interest  pertaining  thereto, 
lie  obtained  much  valuable  information;  the  full  report  of 
which,  sickness,  1  regret  to  say,  has  prevented  his  preparing 
in  time  for  this  pamphlet.  His  letters  establish  beyond  any 


question  the  durability  of  the  Speciosa  variety.  Indeed  all 
the  numerous  examples  of  durability  were  found  to  be  all 
Speciosa,  and  that  it  was  the  only  variety  found  m  the  forests 
of  Illinois,  Missouri  and  Arkansas. 

December  2,  '78,  he  writes  from  New  Madrid:  "Two  import- 
ant facts  are  clearly  established,  viz. :  that  the  speciosa  eatalpa 
grows  wild,  or  native,  in  its  pure  and  perfect  distinctiveness, 
at  various  points  along  the  Mississippi  River,  -not  to  speak  of 
other  localities  not  yet  explored;  and  secondly,  that  its  timber 
possesses  the  wonderful  durability  tor  which  the  eatalpa  lias 
become  so  noted.  Just  now  a  new  idea  occurs  to  me.  May  it 
not  be  possible  that  the  eatalpa  growing  east  and  south-east 
are  what  we  call  common,  and  all  the  wild  ones  West  speciosa? 

"As  the  trees  in  cultivation  have  nearly  all  been  distributed 
by  the  nurseries,  or  grown  from  seed  of  trees  so  distributed, 
and  as  in  nursery  work,  as  in  other  matters,  it  is  '  westward 
the  star  of  empire,'  &c.,.it  is  hardly  to  be  wondered  at  that 
the  eastern  variety  should  have  covered  the  east  half  of  the 
continent  before  the  difference  and  great  superiority  of  the 
western  was  recognized." 

The  more  I  thought  of  the  matter,  the  more  its  importance 
grew  upon  me,  and  I  felt  so  important  a  question  should  be 
established  by  the  testimony  of  at  least  two  unimpeachable 
witnesses.  I  therefore  also  arranged  with  Dr.  Jno.  A.  Warder, 
'President  of  the  American  Forestry  Association, — and  who,  in 
1853,  had,  with  Mr.  Teas,  christened  this  variety  Speciosa, — 
to  make  a  full  investigation  of  the  same  Subject.  The  rail- 
roads, deeming  the  matter  of  sufficient  public  importance, 
promptly  furnished  passes  to  both. 

Dr.  Warder's  investigations  confirm  Mr.  Teas'  in  every  par- 
ticular as  to  durability  of  the  Speciosa,  and  establishes  the 
fact  that  it  is  the  only  variety  of  eatalpa  native  to  the  forests, 
also  of  Indiana,  Western  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  as  well  an 
Illinois,  Missouri  and  Arkansas;  and  that  it  is  unmistakably 
a  western  tree,  having  clearly  denned  and  well  marked  char- 
acteristics that  are  uniformly  transmitted  in  the  seed. 

His  report,  condensed  for  this  pamphlet,  from  a  much  fuller 
and  more  elaborate  one,  will  be  found  on  page  17. 

The  facts  that  seem  to  be  so  clearly  established  by  Mr.  Teas 
and  Dr.  Warder's  investigations  are  exceedingly  important 
and  interesting  to  the  botanist  and  the  practical  forest  tree- 
planter,  and  richly  pay  for  all  the  time  and  money  expended 
in  obtaining  them,  and  the  gratitude  of  the  whole  country  is 
due  the  two  indefatigable  workers  who,  through  great  labor 
and  much  personal  discomfort,  have  obtained  them. 

If  what  I  have  printed  shall  incite  to  an  increased  interest 
in  forest  tree-planting,  I  shall  be  amply  remunerated  for  all 
time  and  money  expended.  E.  E.  B. 


14  DAY  USE  ^ 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWS 


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