io8 



ARBORICULTURE 



The South for Forests. 



GRliAT STKEl'CHES OF SANDY LANDS ALONG TUIJ COAST, W 1 1 KRIS FORE^STS 



SHOULD BE MAINTAINED. 



WHERE THE CATALPA BEST SUCCEEDS. 



Experience has clearly shown that the 

 Catalpa speciosa tree adapts itself to a 

 great variety of soils, growing in fact 

 upon every soil of the United States, 

 but observation demonstrates that its 

 preference is for sandy locations where 

 its roots can revel, drawing its nourish- 

 ment from great depths. 



THE GULF AND ATLANTIC COASTS. 



From the mouth of the Alabama 

 River eastward along the Gulf and At- 

 lantic coasts, terminating at Cape Cod, 

 Massachusetts, there are extensive tracts 

 of land composed largely of ocean sand 

 and the silt from sand formations in 

 the mountain ranges. In places this is 

 pure sand, while in other Ideations they 

 are clay and sand admixtures. Here and 

 there we find a single tree or a small 

 group of trees of the Wabash Catalpa 

 which have been plantetl for ornament. 



There has been a sufficient number of 

 trees planted in every State so that we 

 max now determine upi>n what soils and 

 under what conditions the trees have suc- 

 ceeded best, and thus draw ouv conclu- 

 sions as to where we nia\' hoi)e to succeed 

 with large plantations. 



Enough have been found to assure us 

 that the Catalpa tree will thrive in all 

 these sandy locations. 



It is true that soil analysis experts may 

 not find nutriment in these sands to pro- 

 duce timber growth, but the trees do 

 find it. So we take the evidence of the 

 trees. 



Very much of this sand area possesses 

 slight agricultural value. Corn, cotton, 

 cane, grasses, grains, are produced with 

 great difficulty, while sweet potatoes, 

 peanuts, some early vegetables and cer- 

 tain fruits thrive and are largely culti- 

 vated here. 



But the limit to which any of these 

 crops may be profitably grown is quickly 

 reached, for with our present popida- 

 tion the consumption of early fruits and 

 vegetables can be supplied from a com- 

 paratively small i^roportion of these 

 lands. 



Nearly all, if not this entire coast re- 

 gion has produced wonderful forests of 

 pine timber, and the fertility of the soil 

 for timber growing is as great now as it 

 ever was, and it may again grow timber 

 if onlv the trees arc planted and eared 

 for. 



The shifting sand dunes of Cape Cod, 

 Massachusetts, the broad. Hat sand 

 tracts of Delaware and ^laryland, a 

 large area in New Jersey, all of Long 

 Island, vast stretches in North ami South 

 Carolina, much of South Cieorgia and 

 Southern Alabama, the entire State of 

 h'lorida, may be included in this descrip- 

 tion, and all are suited for the growth of 

 forest trees, and in all of them the Ca- 

 talpa speciosa is growing thriftily. 



This region is all in the belt of fre- 

 quent rains with an abundance of water 

 for wood growth, with soft, sandy soils 

 for the roots to revel in. while heat is 

 graduated from a constant growing sea- 

 son in the Gulf region to the bitter cold 



