242 



THE GAKDEAER'S MONTIIL Y 



\_AugUStr 



is trood oiiou';li for iny folks to usi' for fiiol. Of 

 my lirst planting of Cottonwood twelve years 

 ago, the best of them now measure sixteen inches 

 in diameter. "We would make plantations very 

 thirk ; I nf)W plant 4,350 trees to the acre; this 

 shoves them up straiixht and symmetrical. In 

 this way we jiet the dead sure thing on the side- 

 branch business." 



A LARGE WHITE OAK. 



BY CIIAS. BLAfK, IIKillTSTO'WX, X. J. 



There is a "White Oak tree standing in the public 

 highway, about three miles from our town, which 

 I have always believed to be the largest in our 

 State, and have never seen the account of any 

 a.s large elsewhere. It is perfectly healthy and 

 vigorous yet. It has » trunk of twelve feet, 

 which is nineteen feet in circumference three 

 feet from the ground, and sixteen feet at six feet ; 

 it is seventy-five feet in height, and is one hun- 1 

 dred and twentj' feet in diameter through its 

 branches. Can anyone beat this for a "White Oak ? 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Hardy Catalpa Trees.— A correspondent 

 inquires what we know about " the hardy Ca- 

 talpa." There is but one species of Catalpa that 

 we know of. Some have believed they have a 

 variety that blooms a little earlier than the 

 other, and this may be ; it is also said that one 

 variety grows straighter than the other. "We 

 can only say there are trees in Pennsylvania, four 

 and five feet round, that have endured winters 

 ■when the thermometer has indicated 20 below 

 zero, and are as straight as gun-barrels. "We 

 do not know in what respects the " hardy " and 

 "straight " Catalpa is hardier or straighter than 

 these, and should be glad to know. 



There is one point worth noting. In some 

 situations the Catalpa, in common with the 

 Pawlownia, Chestnut and other trees, dies back 

 the first year, and often the second; or if not 

 dying right down, loses its terminal bud, and 

 this makes the stem a little crooked. If we 

 were growing Catalpa for timber we should 

 let it grow as it will for two or three years, 

 and then cut clean to the ground, a clear 

 straight sprout, ten, fifteen, or even twenty feet 

 high, is the result; and it goes on without dying 

 back after. "We have seen Catalpa that made a 

 sprout fifteen feet high and ten inches round, in 

 one season, when cut back in this way. 



The IIaudy Colorado Fiiis and Spruces. 

 We are glad to l)e able to announce that in a^ 

 few years the very valuable Colorado species, 

 Douglas', Menzics, and Engelmann's, will be 

 within reach of all, Messrs. Douglas & Sons, of 

 AVaukegan,Ill.,having succeeded in procuring last 

 season a large suppl}' of tiie seeds of tiiese trees, 

 which have already germinated tinely. The crop 

 oK Abies Menziesii — the Blue Spruce of the Camb- 

 ridge garden, or as it is known in England, A. 

 Menziesii Parryana^ is enormous, consisting of 

 many hundred thousand plants^ The test to 

 which these Colorado conifers have been sub- 

 jected in various parts of New England, proves, 

 without doubt their hardiness and value for all 

 the northern portion of this country, and for 

 Xorthern Europe ; indeed at St. Petersburg^ 

 but three coniferous trees have yet proved hardy ^ 

 and of these Abies Engelmanni is one. 



It is suggested that these trees will be found 

 able to resist the trying climate of the plains of 

 Nebraska and Kansas, where thus far the Red 

 Cedar alone among coniferous trees succeeds^, 

 and where there is a special need of evergreen 

 wind-breaks and shelter plantations. "We shall 

 be disappointed if the Colorado Menziesii, with 

 its rigid foliage and compact growth, does not 

 make the best evergreen hedge-plant which has 

 yet been tried in the Northern States. 



Since the above was written, the venerable 

 pioneer in American forest tree raising, the 

 Senior Douglas walked into our oflice. Of 

 course we talked with him about the above mat- 

 ters of interest, and finally mentioned that we 

 had prepared a paragraph already about it. The 

 modest old gentleman was horrified. "Please 

 do'nt put that in, people knoAV I have visited 

 Philadelphia, and they will think at my request 

 or desire, you have done this." "Well, it is a 

 pleasure to hear a man talk like that in these 

 days ; but still we do not know why the public 

 should be punished in not getting a good piece 

 of news, simply because we had the good fortune 

 to enjoy Mr. Douglas' company. 



Forestry in Portugal. — Those whose edu- 

 cation reaches no further than what the}'^ see in 

 the papers, must have a hapi:)y time in knowing 

 , what to believe. Take this, for instance : 

 I " It is reported from Texas, sprigs of Pine, Hol- 

 ly, Dogwood, Elm, Ash, Walnut, Apple and 

 Peach have been grafted on a Texas Oak tree, 

 and grew right along as though nothing has 

 happened. Taken altogether, they constitute 



