LILAC-LEAVED CATALPA-TREE. 4Q7 
em states of the American union, and is first met with, in a wild state, on the 
Atlantic coast, on the banks of the river Savannah, and west of the Alleghanies 
on those of the Cumberland, between the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth <!<-,, ,s ,,t 
latitude. Further south, it is more common, and abounds near the borders of all 
the rivers which empty into the Mississippi, or water the westerly part of Florida. 
In a cultivated state, it is to be met with, as an ornamental tree, in most of the 
cities and large towns, from New Orleans, in Louisiana, to Newburyport, in .Mas- 
sachusetts ; but in the latter place, it dwindles down to a mere shrub, and is often 
killed back by the frost. 
This species was introduced into Britain, by Mark Catesby, in 1726, and is 
frequently to be met with in gardens and collections, both in that country, and 
on the continent of Europe. 
The largest recorded tree of this species in Britain, is at Syon, which is fifty- 
two feet in height, with a trunk three feet in diameter, and an ambitus or spread 
of branches of fifty feet. 
The largest catalpa in France is at the Sceaux, which, in thirty years after 
planting, had attained the height of fifty feet, with a trunk two feet in diameter, 
and that of the head thirty feet. 
At Schwobber, in Hanover, Germany, there is a tree of this species, exceeding 
thirty feet in height. 
In Austria, at Vienna, in the university botanic garden, there is a catalpa, 
which, in twenty-six years after planting, had attained the height of forty feet, 
with a trunk eighteen inches in diameter, and an ambitus or spread of branches 
of twenty-four feet. 
In various parts of Italy and the south of France, particularly in the neigh- 
bourhood of Milan and Montpellier, the catalpa is planted as a road- side tree, 
and along the avenues to houses in the country, where, with the Melia azeda- 
rach, and the tulip-tree, (Liriodendron,) and in some places, where the soil is 
moist, with the Magnolia acuminata, and other species, it forms a scene of splen- 
dour and beauty, worthy of a climate so congenial to vegetation. 
About the first tree of this species, which was introduced into New England, 
is said to stand in front of the late residence of Major Babcock, in Washington 
street, Hartford, in the state of Connecticut. It is represented as being of a large 
size, and when in bloom, appears like one solid mass of elegant flowers. It is 
believed to exceed fifty years of age. 
Propagation, fyc. The catalpa is generally propagated by seeds; but it will 
grow readily from cuttings of the root; and, when thus raised, it will llower 
much sooner than when propagated by seeds. The tree is of rapid growth till 
it reaches the height of twenty feet, which, in a deep, free soil, it will usually 
attain in ten years. Seedling plants generally begin to flower, under favourable 
circumstances, in twelve or fifteen years ; and in soils and situations where the 
wood is well ripened, they continue flowering every year, making a splendid 
appearance, not only from the large size and lively colour of the blossoms, but 
from the fine pale-green of their leaves. 
Properties and Uses. The wood of the catalpa is remarkably light, of a very 
fine texture, and is susceptible of a brilliant polish. Its colour is of a grayish- 
white ; and, when properly seasoned, it is very durable. It resembles the wood 
of the sycamore, (Platanus,) with this exception, that the latter is of a reddish 
hue, and is less durable when exposed to the alternations of moisture and dry- 
ness. It is sometimes used for posts to rural fences, and in cabinet-making. If 
a portion of the bark of the catalpa be removed in the spring, a venomous and 
offensive odour is exhaled. In a thesis, read at the medical college of Philadel- 
phia, the bark of this tree was maintained to be tonic, and more powerfully 
