ARBORICULTURE. 



335 



l^^EOM FOKESTRY AND IJJKIGA- 



A rSK FOR OVERFLOW LANDS. 



•'J)r. T. J. Burrill, Vice President of the 

 University of Illinois, gave a lecture be- 

 fore the students there in which he dis- 

 cussed the ustes and supply of timber and 

 the utility oi different kinds of trees. Di'. 

 .Burrill ])redicted disappointment in the re- 

 sults of the Illinois Central catalpa grove 

 ^\hil•h has been planted to supply railroad 

 ties, because it is planted on impervious 

 elay land, while the sur])rising (piick 

 growths for whieb this tree is noted are 

 ]i.ade on I'ieh soils. The leetuvcr ]viint(Mt 

 out that there are nrany rich lands tb;iL 

 ai-e useless for agricultu''e becaiise of l)e- 

 nig rre<|uently overflowed and remarked 

 tb.at tbese woubl l)e suitable sites for 

 cntalpa groves." 



I)i'. Bui'rill. togetlier with sevei'al otlier 



professors of foresti'v, in trying to explain 

 the apparent failure of the Illinois Central 

 ]>ailwa\' catalpa plantation, makes a woe- 

 ful mistake as to its cause, which in due 

 course of time we will explain in full and 

 siiow to wliom the blundering in this for- 

 est experiment belongs. 



So far as Dr. Burrill's guess goes it is •, 

 mistake in toto. The land is roui irknlil;. 

 I'ieh. It has l)een productive of sugai- 

 cane for half a century. The formation i-; 

 identical with that for miles along the 

 ^lisisissippi shore, beginning with tlie low- 

 delta land below Baton Eouge, and extern i- 

 ing far below New Orleans. 



The Mississippi Eiver is iTigher than 

 the surrounding lands, being ke))t in 

 bounds by extensive levee embankments. 



Formerly with each overflow the water 

 jK>ured over these adjacent lands and 

 found their way into Lake Pontchartrain. 

 and thence to the Gulf. 



Each freshet brought the silt from the 

 r3ch lands along the Mississippi Valley, 

 depositing it in this delta. 



One of the verv coinmon trees in this 

 vicinity, growing in abundance in close 

 proximity to Harahan, La., is the southern 

 catalpa, bignonoides, the root system of 

 which is similar to that of catalpa speciosa. 

 'irhe tree has no difficulty in penetrating 

 the subsoil in this delta, any more than 

 the pecan, and a host of other trees which 

 J'orm a tap root. 



Within a mile of the Haralian tract nrc 

 scores of these native catalpa trees, some 

 of large size. 



Within a few miles, ridit along the 

 borders of the MississiiJpi Eiver, may be 

 St en very large trees, part of which are na- 

 tive catalpa, others of speciosa, that were 

 planted some twenty years ago. 



In A"ew Orleans, only eight miles away, 

 was one tree, six feet diameter, and many 

 which are from two to three feet in thick- 

 ness, and sixty to eighty feet high. Such 

 trees have penetrated all the subsoil neces- 

 sary to fmd a foothold and mature their 

 t'unks. 



Ei:ch land ! Why tliere is no ricViei- on 

 the face of the earth. 



There is no doubt, however, but that 

 mismanagement has taken place and a 

 grand experiment in forest planting 1)1(1-; 

 fair to result in disaster. 



THE INDIANA STATE FATE. 



The State Fair of the various States is 

 a wonderful educator for the farmers. 

 Year by year there are improvements in 

 machinery, advancement made in stoek, 

 and methods of farming are changing, 

 while the fruits, grains and product*; ons of 

 agriculture are of higher grade tha'i for- 

 merly. It is well for the fanner to Iceej) 

 in touch ^vith all advanced ideas. Tln-n a 

 fe.w days' recreation is-necessary, and here 

 is the place to take it. 



The Indiana State Fair, equal to the 

 best, is to be held at Indianapolis Sejj- 

 tember 9 to 13, inclusive. 



