238 BULLETIN NO. 62. 



lustre, and I judge would be of some value for cabinet wood. 

 The tree will grow in the most meagre or barren soil. 



CATALPAS. 



Hardy Catalpa. (Catalpa speciosa Warder.) Two species 

 of the Catalpa are grown in this region; these are the one under 

 consideration, and the Common Catalpa (Catalpa calalpa (L.) 

 Karsten). The former is by far the more common one, and is 

 the only one we have on our grounds. Though it is much the 

 hardiest of the two catalpas, yet it kills back somewhat in this 

 valley. During- the nine years of tjieir existence, alternate 

 growth and winter killing-, have prevented our trees becoming- 

 very fair specimens of the species. They have attained an aver- 

 age heig-ht, however, of 18 feet, and a circumference of 22 inches. 

 The trees are in an exposed part of the plantation, and not in 

 the best soil; and, since there are, in this locality, a number of 

 specimens of this Catalpa sufficiently thrifty and hardy, per- 

 haps our experience in this experiment should not be taken as 

 conclusive. We are trying a large number of Hardy Catalpas 

 in the new plantation, where their value will be better tested. 



The large, heart-shaped, yellowish-green leaves of the 

 Catalpa, are generally much admired. The flowers, too, are 

 thought to be beautiful by most people. The latter come in 

 large clusters, are snowy white in color, and are borne so abun- 

 dantly as to nearly hide the foliage of the tree. Both leaves 

 and flowers appear late in the spring, the latter not coming 

 until nearly midsummer. The Hardy Catalpa is easy to propa 

 gate, easy to transplant, grows rapidly, and suffers but little 

 from the onslaughts of insects and diseases; it is, therefore, 

 well adapted for timber plantations in this region, in localities 

 where it does not winter-kill. A good guide in the matter of 

 climate is the peach; where this tree will grow, it is safe to 

 plant the Catalpa. The wood is soft, weighs 26 pounds per 

 cubic foot, and is brown in color; it is said to make good fence 

 posts, being very durable. The tree is not a long lived one, and 

 the trunk, in old age, is liable to be decayed at the center. The 

 Catalpa grows best in a rich, moist bottom-land. 



THE BIRCHES. 



It is to be regretted that more of the birches, and greater 

 numbers of the species we have, were not planted in the ex- 



