CATALPA OR INDIAN BEAN 37 



to the history and introduction of the Catalpa point 

 out that the tree was first described by Catesby in 

 1731 and again by the same botanist in his ' Trees of 

 North America ' in 1767. The Catalpa is described 

 and figured in the Botanical Magazine, 1808, where 

 it says, ' the plant has been long an inhabitant of our 

 gardens, being introduced by the same botanist 

 (Catesby) about the year 1728. It bears the smoke of 

 large towns better than most trees ; the largest speci- 

 men we have ever seen grows in the garden belonging 

 to the Society of Gray's Inn.' There is no reference 

 to the Catalpa by any of the various writers on trees 

 Gerard, Parkinson, Johnson, or Evelyn all of whose 

 works were published after Bacon's death, and it is 

 hardly likely that so remarkable a tree could have 

 escaped the notice of all these botanists, especially 

 at a time when particular interest was being taken 

 in the introduction of new plants. Miller, in his 

 * Dictionary of Gardening,' 1737, says the Catalpa was 

 brought from the Bahama Islands by Mr. Catesby 

 a few years since. It has been suggested that Raleigh, 

 who visited Gray's Inn during Bacon's time, may have 

 brought seed of the Catalpa from Virginia, but such 

 a proposition is hardly tenable in face of the fact that 

 the tree was only discovered a century later by the 

 banks of the Mississippi. 



It will be evident from the above measurements 

 that the so-called Bacon's Catalpa is not the largest 

 tree of its kind in this country, and as size denotes 

 age, neither can it be considered as the oldest nor to 

 have been planted by Bacon. 



The Golden Catalpa (C. bignonioides aurea) is a 

 capital town tree and retains its distinctive feature 

 throughout the season. There are good examples 



