3 , 



from twenty to thirty years, according to the adaptability of the soil 

 for this species. 



The hardy catalpa is, as a rule, free from destructive diseases. It 

 is subject to severe attacks of leaf -eating insects, and a number of 

 parasitic fungi often cause considerable damage to the foliage. Root 

 rot is rare. The wood is quite resistant to decay-producing fungi. 

 The wood of living trees is destroyed by two fungi, one of which 

 causes a soft rot and the other a brown rot. The soft rot is common, 

 the other only occasional. The soft-rot fungus enters the tree through 

 the holes caused by rotting branches and destroys the heartwood very 

 rapidly. The wood is changed to a soft, spongy mass incapable of 

 standing any strain, so that broken trees are common in infected 

 plantations. 



ECONOMIC USES. 



The rapid growth, durability in contact with the soil, lightness, 

 elasticity, and high fuel value of catalpa wood make the tree one of 

 the most valuable for economic planting. Catalpa wood cut from 

 the living tree is probably immune from attack by fungous diseases, 

 and is one of the most durable timbers known. When used for fence 

 posts it often remains sound for thirty to forty years. Even in 

 young trees nearly 75 per cent of the w r ood is heartwood, so that when 

 used for posts the decay of the sapwood does not materially affect the 

 value of the post. The rich coloring of the wood makes it also well 

 suited for cabinetwork. 



The catalpa has been planted principally for fence posts and small 

 telegraph poles. A few plantations have been made for the produc- 

 tion of railway ties. The desirability of growing catalpa for ties 

 has not yet been established. Experience thus far has shown that 

 plantations can be managed most profitably on a sliort rotation of 

 from fifteen to twenty years for the production of posts or small 

 poles. 



The catalpa has unfortunately been discredited in many localities 

 because of poor results from early plantations. These were in very 

 many cases due to the substitution of an inferior species or a hybrid 

 for the true hardy catalpa. While the quality of the wood is some- 

 what similar, the common catalpa and its hybrids are much less 

 hardy than Catalpa speciosa, are less erect in habit, and have a 

 marked tendency to branch low. 



METHODS OF PROPAGATION. 



The catalpa reproduces by seed and by sprouts from the stump. 

 In starting a commercial plantation seedlings should be used, and 

 these may be grown at home at comparatively small cost. 



Seed may be purchased, but it is advisable for the planter to col- 



[Cir. 82] 



