46 THE CATALPA. 



grounds, none would deny the merits of the Horse- 

 Chestnut; but when denuded it is a miserable-looking 

 object, with its terminal branches resembling drumsticks, 

 its primness without grace, and its amplitude without 

 grandeur. The birds seldom build their nests among its 

 branches, which are too wide apart to afford them pro- 

 tection or accommodation ; for this tree is absolutely 

 without any spray. Its fruit, which is borne in great 

 abundance, sustains neither bird nor quadruped, nor is it 

 profitable for man. Hence it has always been regarded 

 by poets and moralists as a symbol of extravagance and 

 waste. 



THE CATALPA. 



THE Catalpa, though an American tree, is not indigenous 

 in New England, nor farther north than Philadelphia. It 

 is allied, in its botanical characters, to the bignonia, one 

 of the most magnificent of the American flowering vines, 

 which in Virginia and the Carolinas climbs the trunks of 

 the loftiest trees, and, rising to a hundred feet or more, 

 completely encompasses them with flowers of rare beauty 

 and foliage of the finest green. The Catalpa requires no- 

 tice here, because it is not uncommon in our gardens and 

 pleasure-grounds, and it is becoming more and more gen- 

 eral as a wayside tree. It is remarkable as a late bloomer, 

 putting forth its large panicles of white flowers late in 

 July, when those of other trees and shrubs have mostly 

 faded, and covering the tree so thickly as almost to con- 

 ceal its dense mass of foliage. The leaves are very large, 

 but flowing, heart-shaped, and of a light and somewhat 

 yellowish green. The Catalpa is not yet very common ; 

 but it is one of those rare productions which is never 

 seen without being admired. 



