t 

 INDIANA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 313 



THE CATALPA AND OTHER TREES FOR TIMBER. 

 E. Y. TEAS, CENTERVILLE, IND. 



The increasing scarcity of timber for farm and other uses, renders 

 it important that farmers and others give more attention to the pro- 

 duction of timber than has been done in the past. 



In my opinion the most useful varieties of trees to plant in this 

 State are catalpa speciosa, osage orange and black or yellow locust. 

 Of these, catalpa will attain a useful size more quiclily than either 

 of the others, though all are rapid growers, in general free from disease, 

 easily and quiclily grown from seed, and readily transplanted. 



The discovery of catalpa speciosa was a little peculiar. The common 

 catalpa bignonoides was introduced into Indiana from the eastern States 

 early in 1800, and was considerably planted, especially in the eastern 

 and southern portions of the State as an ornamental shade tree. In 

 the summer of 1852 Dr. John A. Warder, who became so distinguished 

 in later life in horticultural matters, was then a practicing physician 

 In Cincinnati, He attended a medical convention in Dayton and noticed 

 a few catalpa trees on one street block there in full bloom, while 

 other catalpa trees in Dayton were not near ready to bloom. lie then 

 remembered that the catalpas in Cincinnati were not then in bloom, 

 although the season in the latter city is generally about a week in 

 advance of Dayton. Upon closer examination the doctor found the 

 bloom of these few trees much larger than the ordinary, and of a 

 different color, while the growth and habit of tree was more upright 

 and vigorous. The doctor published an account of his "find" at Dayton 

 in his "Western Horticultural Review." in August, 18.53. 



My brother John C. and I grew the iirst catalpa speciosa seedlings 

 in 1854 ever grown commercially in America. Of these seedlings we 

 sent 1,000 to Suel Foster, a nurseryman of Muscatine, Iowa, and he 

 discovered the superior hardiness of this tree. The bignonoides being 

 entirely too tender to live through the winters of central Iowa, while 

 speciosa has lived and bloomed in central Minnesota. In raising catalpas 

 from seed every care should be used to obtain seed true to name, as 

 C. Bignonoides Is worse than valueless. The seed may be distinguislied 

 in a gtMioral way by tho hairy ends of speciosa being sjiread out fan- 

 shaped, while In bignonoides the ends are drawn to points like a waxed 

 mustache. The older trees are distinguished by the outer bark, in 

 bignonoides scaling off something like a sycamore, while the rough 

 bark of speciosa Is thiclc and ridged almost exactly like tlie baric of 

 a black walnut. The seedpods of speciosa are generally much longer 

 and thicker than bignonoides, but this difference is not as uniform 

 as the difference In the bark of the trees, and in the seeds. 



C. speciosa Is of upright growth, sometimes attaining 100 "feet In 



