112 



ARBORICULTURE 



0)1 the contrary, thousands of Catalpa 

 trees in Topeka and throughout the 

 United States have attained to great 

 height; and a diameter of one inch for 

 each year of growth, when given ample 

 room. 



Eight feet each way is proper distance, 

 and after three years' growth, with 

 strong roots secured, cut off the tree at 

 the ground. A 12-foot straight growth 

 will result the first season and good 

 trunk will be assured. After seven or 

 eight years intennediatc trees must be 

 removed for posts, etc., leaving perma- 

 nent trees not less than 16 feet apart. 



The cuts represent a four-year Ca- 

 talpa which I had dug, measuring every 

 root and branch. Soil, heavy clay. One 

 root 12-inch girth extending 15 feet, 

 others 8 to 12 feet. Total length of roots, 

 I to 4 inches diameter, was 114^ feet. 



\\'hen our four-year tree requires 100 

 square feet of space, filling it with root- 

 lets, what root growth and consequent 

 wood growth can be expected with trees 

 having only 16 feet space? 



GIRTH 9" 



OIRTH JZ'A 

 CIRTHJ^yji 



^ Good cultivation and the occasional use 

 of the pruning knife are necessary if 

 financial returns are expected from for- 

 est planting. 



CROSS-TIE RENEWALS. 



The cost of railway cross-ties does not 

 end with their purchase nor yet with 

 their transportation. Each year there 

 must be dug out, removed and destroyed 

 by burning, one-sixth of all the ties in 

 every railway ; these must be replaced 

 with new ties. This is an enormous ex- 

 penditure of labor and money which 

 would be greatly reduced by the use of 

 Catalpa tics — only one-thirtieth of the ties 

 would re([uire renewal each year; one- 

 sixth of the present expense. 



TELEGRAPH POLES. 



Railway companies and telegraph lines, 

 as well as telephone companies, will be 

 interested within a few years in any re- 

 lief from the enonnous expense of pro- 

 curing new poles. 



No tree offers the same inducements to 

 l)lanters for such poles as the Catalpa. In 

 sixteen years better poles may be grown 

 than are now used by any corporation. 



The white cedar, which is now used, 

 has been from eighty to one hundred 

 years struggling for an existence, while 

 red cedar is of still slower growth. The 

 expense of iron poles precludes the use 

 of metal for long lines outside the cities. 



MINING TIMBERS. 



The enormous quantity of wood used 

 in supporting the roofs of mines in the 

 United vStates, which must be renewed 

 frequently, demands the attention of min- 

 ing engineers, investors and statesmen, 

 as to what shall be used in the near fu- 

 ture. 



Even now, many of the coal and other 

 mines are transporting timbers hundreds 

 of miles. The durability of Catalpa w^ood 

 under similar situations, and its rapid 

 growth, commend it for this purpose. It 

 has ample strc^igth and resists the germs 

 of decay completely. 



While metal may be desirable to re- 

 place wockI in mining operations, yet the 

 cost of metal must be so great as to in- 

 duce the planting of Catalpa timl)er for 

 this use. 



