ARBORICULTURE 



169 



considerable interest in the work. Dur- 

 ing next year other plantations and p'os- 

 sibly a new nursery will be established 

 by prison labor, the matter being at 

 present under consideration. 



Catalpa and the Timber Shortage 



(W. D. GRAVES IN WOODCRAFT) 



That in catalpa there is balm for those who dread 

 the exhaustion of the timber supply seems past con- 

 tradiction. As a matter of course, there are ex- 

 tremists among the exponents of this wood who 

 with the best of intent do as much to hinder the 

 dissemination of a true estimate of its value as do 

 the many biped barnacles who, seeking selfish 

 gain through the efforts of others, sell the seeds 

 and seedlings of an inferior variety while repre- 

 senting them to be of the best. 



Much misunderstanding as to the value of this 

 unquestionably valuable tree has been caused by 

 the fact that the variety which is by far the most 

 common, the Catalpa bignonioides, is of com- 

 paratively little value, and its seed, closely 

 resembling that of the Catalpa speciosa, being 

 easy to obtain, has been largely sold for that of the 

 latter tree. The Catalpa speciosa is of straighter 

 and taller growth, making a millable tree in com- 

 paratively few years. 



The International Society of Arboriculture pub- 

 lishes a photograph showing a section of wood 

 from one of these trees which attained a diameter 

 of about 22 inches in fourteen years. The annual 

 ring, in one instance, attained a thickness of 

 almost an inch. This growth is, it is true, very 

 unusual; but there seems to be ample evidence 

 that trees of this variety may, with no excessive 

 amount of care, be brought to a diameter of a foot 

 or more in a dozen or fifteen years. They are 

 naturally long-bodied and straight; in every way 

 well adapted to use for telegraph poles, ties, posts 

 and lumber. 



A substantial discount from extreme claims for 

 Catalpa speciosa still leaves it immeasurably in 

 advance for profitable propagation, of any of the 

 better known timber trees; its growth being, at 

 the least estimate, ten times as rapid as that of 

 pine. A conservative estimate, based on data 

 which one can hardly question, indicates that land 

 planted to this tree will have paid at the end of 

 fifteen years a return of $60 per acre, per year, 

 and will continue to pay fully that amount, annu- 

 ally, without replanting. This return is insured 

 even though the prices of timber do not advance. 

 A great many farms, probably a majority of them, 

 are being tilled for a smaller gross return. 



The tree seems to flourish in about the same 

 belt that corn does; and while, like corn, it has 

 been grown in Northern Maine and Minnesota, it 

 does best in the latitude between that of Central 

 Illinois and Oklahoma. 



The texture of the wood much resembles that 

 of butternut, though it is claimed that it is much 

 stronger. While men who have worked white 

 pine at its best cannot readily adjust their vision 

 to any other wood for all-around purposes, com- 

 ing generations will doubtless find catalpa appli- 

 cable to most of the purposes for which lumber 

 is desirable. 



The Catalpa Speciosa in England 



Letter from Marquis of Ailesbury 



Savernake Forest, 

 Marlborough, Eng., 

 Sept. 17, 1906. 

 Mr. John P. Brown, 



My Dear Sir: — You will be glad to 

 hear that the catalpa speciosa plants I 

 procured from you at the St. Louis Fair 

 have done remarkably well. Those 1 

 planted in rich soil especially so. I don't 

 think I lost one single catalpa out of the 

 one thousand you sent me. They were 

 also admirably packed. Please also 

 accept my hearty thanks for the beautiful 

 book you sent me, " Practical Arboricul- 

 ture;" the photographs are lovely. Our 

 government is very like yours as regards 

 forestry. They take but little interest 

 in it and tax it the same as agricultural 

 land, although in forestry we only get 

 one crop in twenty-one years. We have 

 had several forestr}^ commissions but 

 they have never come to anything. The 

 French and Germans are far ahead of us 

 as regards the management of forests. 

 It is too sad to see a great industry like 

 this neglected. With kind regards and 

 every good wish. 

 Believe me. 



Very truly yours, 



Ailesbury. 



Russian Forests to be Sold 



Ruler of Russia Takes Steps to Save 

 Land from the Peasants 



It is correctly reported in St. Petersburg that 

 the administration of the imperial appanages is 

 negotiating with a Berlin syndicate for the sale of 

 the imperial forests under its jurisdiction for 

 $25,000,000. 



This is to forestall possible confiscation of the 

 estates by the people. 



The imperial appanages consist of estates set 

 aside by the Emperor Paul I, the revenues from 

 which are drawn by more than forty members of 

 the imperial family not in the direct line of suc- 

 cession. These estates cover 33,000 square miles, 

 being 2,000,000 acres larger than Scotland, and 

 the total revenue derived from them was recently 

 estimated at $10,000,000 yearly. 



Before the emancipation of the serfs 800,000 

 peasants were attached to these estates, and were 

 included in the valuation of the property. 



