HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 393 



not flattering in the direction of the catalpa as a timber tree. A 

 gentleman went down with me night before last to look at my 

 trees, many of them two inches through, but they killed back on 

 the average two inches and some of them more than three inches, 

 although they made a growth this year of from four to eight feet. 



Col. Stevens. Probably you have seen one that I have in my 

 yard that never was killed back a bud, that blossoms every year. 

 I have scattered large quantities of seed broadcast all over the 

 state and especially in my neighborhood. My neighbor has one 

 he brought from Illinois long ago that is as hardy as the oak. 



Mr, Smith. Perhaps I have been a little too suspicious iu 

 recommending the catalpa. I have seen the tree referred to; and 

 I must say it had the most magnificent show of flowers I ever saw 

 on any lawn. I also saw trees, four years from seed that blos- 

 somed profusely last year. I had one cluster with twenty eight 

 flowers on it, and the tree only four years from seed; it is some- 

 what remarkable. But I do feel that the catalpa is a tree we 

 can profitably invest in. We should be careful in regard to the 

 locality from which we get our seed. I find the same thing true 

 in regard to the black walnut. 



I visited the place of H. J. Ludlow, of Worthington, a short 

 time ago, who is very successful iu growihg the black walnut. 

 I examined the trees; they are growing very rapidly and are 

 certainly a success there. He related to me some of his experi- 

 ence with the black walnut and the same experience I referred 

 to. They had not produced as hardy trees as those grown from 

 seed procured in Minnesota. Consequently I have every reason 

 to suppose the tree which Col. Stevens has will produce better 

 seed than those obtained in Illinois and further south for anyone 

 buying catalpa trees. We ought to be careful and know where 

 seed is grown if we went to get hardy trees. 



The Eussian mulberry was referred to here the other day. I 

 have never been a particular friend of the Russian mulberry and 

 I think less and less of it every year. I spent something like a 

 week in Cottonwood county in December last and I investigated 

 there. And I must say though we got our start in them from 

 that county, I found none there that would be any inducement 

 to me to plant mulberries. Those men there who have the mul- 

 berries and who know the most about them are planting more or 

 less cottonwoods for windbreaks, more than of mulberries. I 

 asked one gentleman why he planted out willows for a snowbreak 

 to the west of his tree plantation instead of mulberries and the 



Vol. IV— 50. 



