132 Botanical Department. [Bulletin 108 



ant to decay as catalpa is sufficiently obvious. In its native forests, 

 the catalpa has been known to obtain a height of 100 feet ; a height 

 amply sufficient for pole timber of all classes. It must be remem- 

 bered, however, that these trees grew in alluvial bottoms, where the soil 

 was exceedingly rich and the water-supply abundant. Such results 

 can scarcely be expected from Kansas catalpa plantations on upland 

 soil. It is quite possible, however, that on river-bottom land trees 

 tall enough for telephone poles may be grown in about twenty-five 

 years. It is hardly to be expected that individual farmers will enter 

 upon the growing of large forestry plantations, covering a period of 

 a quarter of a century, on land valuable for annual crops. Bat there 

 is no doubt that, if a catalpa plantation be set out with the inten- 

 tion of growing timber for post purposes, it will prove a safer and 

 possibly a more profitable investment in the long run than a fruit 

 orchard. When the fungus and insect pests, the freezes and droughts 

 which affect the productivity of an orchard are taken into considera- 

 tion, together with the necessity for a longer cultivation of the trees, 

 a catalpa forest presents itself as a far simpler business venture. 

 There is but one insect known to attack the catalpa (the Sphinx 

 catalpa) ; no report of its ravages having affected the Kansas planta- 

 tions has thus far been received, however. The immunity of catalpa 

 wood to decay means the existence of certain chemical compounds in 

 the tissues which render them antiseptic to saprophytic fungi. The 

 presence of this compound or compounds likewise renders the living 

 tree remarkably free from plant diseases caused by parasitic organ- 

 isms. An investigation of the nature and composition of this sub- 

 stance is now under way at this station. 



LUMBER VALUE OF CATALPA WOOD. 



At the present time there is no catalpa timber being offered in the 

 market for lumber purposes. That the wood would be exceedingly 

 valuable for lumber is demonstrated by the occasional specimens 

 that have been sawed, finished, and made into furniture. The open 

 grain of the wood enables it to take a "filler" easily, while in color and 

 marking there is scarcely a more beautiful native lumber product. It 

 is to be hoped that the future will see a sufficient extension of catalpa- 

 forest planting to bring the lumber into market as a staple article. 

 Lumber companies would probably find a catalpa plantation for 

 lumber purposes a very profitable investment. With corporations, 

 whose life is perpetual, provided the investment is secure and the 

 profits certain, the length of time required for a realization on the in- 

 vestment is not a matter of such vital importance as to an individual 

 planter, who desires returns within his own lifetime. 



