ARBORICULTURE 



201 



Poplar for Wood Pulp 



(reply to a WISCONSIN CORRESPONDENT) 



CoNNERSviLLE, Ind., Aug. 17, 1906. 

 Evergreen Nursery Co., 

 Sturgeon Bay, Wis. 



Gentlemen: — A dozen years ago at 

 the time of the great furore accompany- 

 ing the extensive introduction of the 

 Carolina Poplar, as a new and valuable 

 shade tree, I opened correspondence 

 with Mr. Wm. Sanders, one of the most 

 eminent Scotch gardeners in charge of the 

 parks and grounds at Washington, D. C, 

 and with hundreds upon hundreds ol 

 other botanists and specialists among my 

 acquaintances. It was the unanim.ous 

 verdict that Carolina Poplar was nearly 

 a sport from a cottonwood, Populus 

 Monilifera, sometimes called deltoides, 

 from the shape of the leaf. It was also 

 agreed that the tree possessed but one 

 advantage, that of non seed bearing. 

 That it possessed all of the bad qualities 

 of the cottonwood, including more than 

 one hundred insect enemies and more 

 than one hundred and fifty fungoid dis- 

 eases. My object then was to attempt 

 to prevent its so extensive planting on 

 American streets, as it was at the expense 

 of all other good trees. Oaks, Maples 

 and a host of fine trees were totally- 

 ignored by the American public while 

 planting this very worthless cottonwood. 

 While young the tree possesses vigor to 

 make rapid progress in almost every 

 location, notwithstanding the continuous 

 attack of the innumerable insects and 

 fungus diseases. 



As the tree increases in age it loses 

 that vitality and is gradually overcome 

 by its numerous enemies. 



In the cities the roots of the cotton- 

 wood penetrate the sewers, there finding 

 rich feed, pushing these roots farther 

 and farther into the sewers, choking them 

 entirely. It often finds its way into 

 walls, springs and even cemented cisterns, 

 destroying their usefulness. You will 

 please note that in all of my writings I 

 make plain distinction between trees for 

 shade and ornament and those for forest 

 purposes. And therefore I advocate the 

 planting of this tree in close forests. 



principally for paper stock, since the 

 growth is perfected for paper before the 

 gradual destruction by insect and disease. 

 Under no circumstances should the 

 Carolina poplar exceed twelve inches in 

 diameter before being cut for use. It 

 decreases in value thereafter. 



IN REGARD TO THE CATALPA 



For fifty years seedsmen and nursery- 

 men in the United States have distributed 

 the Catalpa in vast numbers throughout 

 the United States and in Europe. Out 

 of every one hundred of these trees 

 ninety-nine are the Southern bignonoides 

 or some of its hybrids. 



It is* evident from your letters that 

 you have been a recipient of these 

 Southern trees. The thin scaly bark, 

 small flowers, tender shoots, killing back 

 more or less each year, will be found in 

 great contrast with speciosa, the bark of 

 which registers the age of the tree, the 

 same as the annual circles of growth in 

 the wood. Thick, rough, ridged bark 

 adhering year after year characterizes 

 this hardy tree. 



In the past few years I have distributed 

 gratuitous five thousand dollars worth 

 of catalpa speciosa trees. These have 

 gone to the far north and to Mexico and 

 all over the world. In the course of 

 time the world will learn the value of 

 this tree. But all of this you will find 

 in "Practical Arboriculture," thoroughly 

 treated. 



Preserving Our Forests 



One of the most hopeful signs of the times is 

 the changing attitude of the lumbermen toward 

 the science of forestry as fostered by the federal 

 government. They are beginning to see that their 

 industry is doomed to an early extinction unless 

 the wastage is checked and the forest is renewed 

 for future generations. And, more than this, 

 unless the forests are preserved, vast tracts of 

 fertile and prosperous America will become 

 desert in the next century. This is a lesson 

 taught by such countries as Tunis, now a part of 

 the African desert, which in old times was a 

 smiling and populous garden. An Arab chronicler 

 relates that "in those days one could walk from 

 Tunis to Tripoli in the shade," The Arab con- 

 quest destroyed the forest, and the desert swept 

 over the face of the land. 



