to produce poles. If this latter plan is followed, however, the stump 

 sprouts are likely to be less vigorous than if all the trees were cut. 



In the Middle West the catalpa is often injured by strong, steady 

 winds, which whip off the leaves, dry out the soil, and cause crooked 

 and deformed growth. Plantations should, therefore, be protected 

 by setting out several rows of hardier species along the exposed sides, 

 a mixture of species being best. A good combination would be two 

 rows of 'Russian mulberry or Osage orange adjoining the plantation 

 with a row of cottonwood on the outside. The mulberry should be 

 spaced 4 by 4 feet and the cottonwood 8 by 8 feet. 



If protection from fires is necessary, it should be given by plowing 

 a fire guard of half a dozen furrows around the plantation each year. 

 If the plantation is large, it is better to divide it into blocks of 40 to 

 50 acres each by means of lanes 15 to 20 feet wide. These lanes should 

 be kept plowed, so that fire can not spread from one block to another. 

 This system also gives easy access to the interior of the plantation. 



Soft rot of the catalpa can not be checked after a tree is infected, 

 but proper treatment of the plantation will prevent it. Trees that are 

 only partially rotten may be cut and used for posts, since the fungus 

 ceases to work as soon as the tree is cut. Methods of planting, cutting 

 back, or pruning which produce a clean, straight growth of the tree 

 free from low side branches give the fungus no chance to enter unless 

 a wound is caused in some unusual way. 



If the plantation is threatened by insect attacks, specimens should 

 be sent to the Bureau of Entomology of the Department of Agricul- 

 ture for identification and advice as to remedial measures. 



KETURNS. 



Catalpa has been planted under such a wide range of conditions 

 that the returns have not been at all uniform. Profits from catalpa 

 growing depend most upon the suitability of the planting site, upon 

 proper spacing, and especially upon the cultivation and care of the 

 plantation. 



The following figures on the yield of hardy catalpa under a variety 

 of conditions indicate in a general way the returns which may be 

 expected from plantations : 



Two plantations in Marion County, Mo., in which the trees were 

 spaced 4 by 8 feet when set out, contained, respectively, 392 trees 

 and 616 trees per acre at the end of twenty years. The average 

 height of the trees in the first grove was 47 feet, with a diameter, 

 breast high, of 7.5 inches; those in the second grove were 55 feet, 

 with a diameter of 7 inches. The products per acre of the first grove 

 were 1,568 first-class posts, 392 second-class posts, and 1.9 cords of 



[Cir. 82] 



