Issued January 19, 1907. 



United States Department of Agriculture, 



FOREST SERVICE Circular 77. 



GIFFORD PINCHOT, Forester. 



FOREST PLANTING LEAFLET. 



COTTONWOOL (Populus deltoides). 



FORM AND SIZE. 



The cottonwood is naturally a tall, straight tree, and under favor- 

 able conditions may attain a height of 75 to 100 feet and a diameter 

 of 2 to 3 feet. When grown in the open or in single rows it develops 

 a large, wide-spreading crown and a short, heavy stem. In dense 

 stands, however, the crowns become narrow and oblong and the stems 

 long, slender, and free from branches. 



The Carolina poplar, which is considered a horticultural variety of 

 the common cottonwood, is widely used as a shade tree. It is not 

 easily distinguished from the true cottonwood. 



RANGE. 



The eastern boundary of the natural range of cottonwood extends 

 from central Quebec southward through northwestern New England, 

 western New York, and western Pennsylvania; thence, south of the 

 Potomac Eiver, through the Atlantic States to western Florida. The 

 western boundary extends from southern Alberta, in Canada, south- 

 ward along the Rocky Mountains to northern New Mexico. 



The cottonwood occurs usually in pure stands or in mixture with 

 willow and other moisture-loving trees. On soils of the flood plains 

 of the Mississippi Eiver in western Kentucky and Tennessee, which 

 are especially favorable, it forms a part of the mature hardwood 

 forests. 



For economic planting the range is confined to regions throughout 

 the Middle West where there is a permanent supply of water near 

 the surface. 



HABITS AND GROWTH. 



The most favorable site for cottonwood is the alluvial soil along 

 water courses, for the most important factor in its growth and devel- 

 opment is the available moisture in the soil and not the fertility. 

 Forest plantations of cottonwood require a situation in which the 

 water table is within 10 to 15 feet of the surface. Individual trees 



17083 No. 7707 M 



