412 State Horticultural Sooiety. 



prosperous population. Marveling at the height of the bridge above the 

 ground, I asked the French station-master if the river ever rose to the 

 arches which carried the roadway of the bridge. His answer testified to 

 the flooding capacity oi the river and to the strength of the bridge. He 

 said: "I have, been here four years, and three times I have seen the 

 river running over the parapets of that bridge." That country was one 

 of the richest granaries of the Roman empire. It now yields a scanty 

 support for a sparse and semi-barbarous population. The whole region 

 round about is treeless. The care of the national forests is a provision 

 for future generations, for the permanence over vast areas of our country 

 of the great industries of agriculture and mining upon which the pros- 

 perity of the country ultimately depends. A good forest administration 

 would soon support itself; but it should be organized in the interests of 

 the whole country, no matter what it cost. — -C. W. Eliot in Atlantic. 



CAT A LP A AKD MAPLE TREES. 



B. V. J., Suffolk county, IST. Y. — Is the Catalpa as desirable for a 

 shade tree as the maple? Does it grow as quickly? Which is the best 

 kind of maple, and most used in this part of the country ? 



Answer. — The Catalpa will, probably, grow faster than any of the 

 maples. Whether it is as desirable or not for a shade tree, is a matter of 

 taste. Its flowers are borne in conspiciuous racemes, while the maples 

 have no conspicuous flowers. The leaves of the Catalpa are so large in 

 well-grown specimens as to give the tree a tropical appearance. We 

 would choose the Hardy Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa). Among the maples, 

 we would choose for a shade the ISTorway, although the Sugar maple is 

 somewhat faster growing. If purple leaves are valued, Schwerdler's or 

 Reitenbach's should be chosen. The young leaves are beautifully tinted. 

 — Rural jSTew Yorker. 



