288 



ARBORICULTURE. 



shipped in the form of lumber. Such 

 trade is of more than doubtful advan- 

 tage to the country. It is true that our 

 exports are only about lo per cent, of 

 our total cut, but that lo per cent, is 

 needed rig^ht here at home. The total 

 value of our lumber and timber products 

 in 1900, the latest census year, was $566,- 

 000,000. It is probable that it is now 

 largely in excess of that amoruit. At the 

 present pace our timber resources will 

 soon be exhausted, and we shall have no 

 wood for export, and only a limited and 

 costly supply for domestic use. Already 

 we are looking around for other build- 

 ing material than wood, so costly has the 

 price become. As far back as the year 

 1700 the Earl of Bellomont. then Gover- 

 nor of New York, suggested that every 

 one who cut down a tree should be com- 

 pelled to plant five or six }oung trees to 

 res tor e the forest growth. Such a law 

 prevails in Germany. It would be a good 

 law for the United States, if practicable. 

 [And it is practicable. — Ed. Arbori- 

 culture;.] 



CATALPA SPECIOSA IN NORTH- 

 ERN LATITUDES. 



From Albert Lea, Minnesota, we have 

 correspondence which settles the ques- 

 tion of the hardiness of the Catalpa spe- 

 ciosa in the far North, as the following 

 letter shows : 



"Your book duly received, and with 

 great interest by more than one of us. 

 We spent several days last week looking 

 up trees, and send a photograph which 

 we took O'f a fine Catalpa speciosa tree 

 standing within fifteen rods of Minne- 

 haha Falls. It is 18 inches in diameter 

 and 40 feet high, and in perfect health. 

 It stands quite alone, so has spread out 

 instead of getting up. There are sev- 



eral trees here of about this size. None 

 appears to have suffered by winters of 

 our latitude. I also send seed for you to 

 pronounce upon. You will see that this 

 tree had a very unusual crop of seed, but 

 it was not in clusters, while some O'f the 

 pods were of gigantic size. Catalpa ol 

 this strain has done wel'l here, uniformly 

 for the past eight years. We approve 

 your plan of 7-by-7-feet planting. 



"I mail you a photograph taken in a 

 grove of mixed trees near here. The 

 five large trees at the right hand are Ca- 

 talpa. These are 33 feet high and have 

 a girth, measured a foot above the 

 ground, of 30, 33, 21, 31 and 36 inches. 

 They retain their diameter well up. 



"This grove is a mi.xed plantation of 

 black walnut, butternut, soft maple and 

 catalpa, which latter has stood as well as 

 anv others. Clarence Wedge." 



CATALPA SPECIOS.'\. 



"We have pleasure in calling attention to the 

 excellent work being done by Mr. John P. 

 Brown, editor of Arboriculture. Connersville, 

 Ind., in popularizing the valuable hardy catalpa. 

 Mr. Brown is distributing gratuitously to the 

 various botanic gardens, arboricultural societies, 

 experiment stations and public grounds in for- 

 eign countries packets of seed of this valuable 

 tree. In addition to the above institutions, Mr. 

 Brown has sent out some two hundred and fifty 

 packets to nurseries in the United States. This 

 latter distribution is for the specific purpose of 

 giving them an opportunity to compare the tree 

 with the type which is ordinarily grown under 

 the name of Catalpa speciosa. This distribu- 

 tion covers practically half of the seed collected 

 by Mr. Brown last season. There is no ques- 

 tion at all about the value of the hardy catalpa, 

 but nurserymen probably understand that a 

 great deal of confusion exists, and they more 

 often secure a comparatively worthless variety 

 than the true type. This is an opportunity 

 whereby they can secure a start of the valuable 

 form, and we commend Mr. Brown's work very 

 heartilj'." — The National Nurseryman. 



