ARBORICULTURE 



385 



Scrub Catalpain Kansas. 



While visiting at home this summer I cut 

 several sections from a catalpa tree in the half- 

 acre plantation of Hon. A. W. Hefley, five miles 

 northwest of Dowrns, Osborne county, Kansas. 

 One of these sections I mailed to you. The tree 

 was a fair sample of the entire plantation, estab- 

 lished 23 years ago. Of 128 trees measured, the 

 average height was 30 feet, and the diameter 

 breast high 7.3 inches. Until it was 15 years old 

 the grove w^as most promising. Then sun scald 

 and heart rot appeared, and Mr. Hefley says he 

 now w^ishes every tree was out of the way. 1 

 did not see, in the Sixth Congressional District of 

 Kansas, however, one catalpa plantation that has 



Section of Diseased Catalpa Bignonides. 



paid for its planting. The young trees look well 

 but those large enough for use do not. 



"Experienced and thoughtful persons are of 

 the opinion that catalpa can not be planted writh 

 profit even on low ground west of the 98th me- 

 ridian in Kansas. Mr. Hefley 's site is ideal for 

 that region -not unlike one a mile east where 

 Russian mulberry is making money for the 

 ow^ner, w^ho cut 120 posts from a single row last 

 spring, taking as many as 22 from one tree." 



"A section of the diseased catalpa was sent to 

 Mr. E. E. Yaggy, Hutchinson, who was asked if 

 the unhealthy condition of the plantation is due 



to the presence of alkali in the soil. Mr Yaggy 

 replied 'The sun-scald has never bothered our 

 trees, and we have not noticed that alkaHne soil 

 has any other effect on the trees than to dwarf or 

 stunt them.' " 



Mr. Hefley planted 8-i by 8-i, cultivated care- 

 fully, and has not allowed stock to injure the 

 trees. Black walnut planted 2 years later in va- 

 cant places is now 6 feet taller and much larger 

 in diameter, I w^ould very much appreciate in- 

 formation as to the best method of caring for 

 catalpa in that region. Should it be pruned 

 regularly and systematically, and must it be cut 

 at 16 years of age to avoid scald and heart rot? 

 If Mr. Hefley should cut his down now and burn 

 it, would he probably secure posts in 10 years 

 from the sprouts with the spacing 8-| by 8-i? 



REPLY OF ARBORICULTURE 



I am .in receipt of your favor of 8th, 

 and some two weeks ago perhaps, I re- 

 ceived the section of Catalpa bignonoi- 

 des with heart rot. 



It is extremely unfortunate that so 

 many million of these scrub trees have 

 been planted in Kansas, Nebraska and 

 in lesser numbers through the east. 



There is no question w^hatever regard- 

 ing the variety of this sample. 



In the autumn of 1906, at very great 

 expense, I employed thirty men for an 

 entire month, paying high wages, board- 

 ing part of the men at hotels, besides 

 paying my ovv^n and their traveling ex- 

 penses. The entire cost was a little 

 over $2,500. For this outlay of money 

 and labor I secured 1,000 pounds of 

 genuine catalpa speciosa seed. The 

 most of this was distributed, gratuitously, 

 to all parts of the w^orld. 



First I sent a quantity to each Botani- 

 cal Garden of the w^orld; next to all so- 

 cieties of Forestry in Europe; then from 

 five to ten pounds to each Experiment 

 Station of the U. S., and lastly to nearly 

 every prominent nurseryman in Ameri- 

 ca, I sent a generous package for testing 



