A Timber Crop that Really Pays-By c. G. Woodbury, 



THE PECULIAR MERITS OF THE QUICK-GROWING HARDY CATALPA FOR THE FARMS OF 

 THE MIDDLE WEST— A GENUINE WINDBREAK AND A CASH-YIELDING WOODLOT IN ONE 



Indiana 



THE increasing scarcity of wood, espe- 

 cially in the Central Western States, 

 makes the problem of fence post, pole and 

 railroad tie material increasingly important. 

 Comparatively few kinds of wood are well 

 adapted for these purposes. The white-cak 

 of the Eastern States, the pine from the 

 South, and the cedar from northern Michigan, 

 Wisconsin and Minnesota, are becoming 

 scarcer each year. The increasing cost of 

 fence posts and the difficulty of securing 

 them suggest home-growing as the best and 

 easiest relief, and the steady demand for 

 durable timber for poles and ties offers a 

 sure and constant market for the surplus 

 trees from the post plantation if the trees 

 are thinned and allowed to grow a few 

 years longer. 



The qualities demanded for timber for any 

 of these purposes are: rapidity of growth, 

 freedom from the attacks of insects and 

 fungi, adaptability to a wide range of soil 

 and climatic conditions and durability when 

 in contact with the soil. Several woods 

 meet these requirements in some degree. 

 The best of them are the black or yellow 

 locust (Robinia Pseudacacia) ; the osage- 

 orange (Toxylon pomijerum, known in the 

 trade as Madura aurantiaca) ; the red cedar 

 (Juniperus Virginiana) ; the Russian mul- 

 berry {Morus alba, var. Tatarica); and the 

 hardy catalpa (C. speciosa). 



For the localities in which it thrives the 

 hardy catalpa (C. speciosa) is probably the 

 most profitable tree to grow. The Bureau 

 of Forestry gives as its advisable planting 

 range the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 

 Iowa, Missouri, eastern Nebraska, eastern 

 Kansas and eastern Oklahoma. The tree 

 prefers a deep and well-drained soil but may 

 often be profitably grown for a home 

 supply of posts on poor or out-of-the-way 

 parts of the farm which would not other- 

 wise be returning anything to the owner. 



Where quick-growing, durable timber is 

 required grow the hardy catalpa. It is not 

 so difficult of propagation as the cedar nor 



is it as crooked as the osage-orange. In 

 many localities the susceptibility of the black 

 cr yellow locust to the attacks of borers 

 make its planting on a commercial scale a 



The seeds of bignonioides (about \\ inches long 

 with the hairs pointed) in the centre. Speciosa on 

 the left, ovata on the right 



A commercial plantation can be set 4x4 ft. and 

 gradually thinned to 8 x 8 ft. 



hazardous investment. The hardy catalpa 

 has but few enemies, can adapt itself to 

 widely varying conditions, is a very rapid 

 grower on fairly good soil, and when cut 

 at the proper time is a very durable wood 

 when in contact with the soil. 



Unfortunately the hardy catalpa is often 

 confused with other species of inferior or 

 worthless character, but of somewhat similar 

 appearance. The one most frequently mis- 

 taken for it is the Eastern catalpa (C. bignoni- 

 oides). Much loss and disappointment have 

 resulted in the past by planting C. bignoni- 

 oides when it was intended to grow C. speci- 

 osa. The seedlings of the two species are 

 almost impossible to distinguish, and every 

 farmer who contemplates making a small 

 plantation of catalpa for posts, poles or ties, 

 should know the source of the seed if he 

 buys seedling trees, and should familiarize 

 himself with the distinguishing characters 

 of the two species. Catalpa bignonioides is 

 a tree of much more crooked growth than 

 C. speciosa, and it is generally impossible to 

 make it form a straight trunk. This de- 

 stroys its usefulness as a post or pole timber. 



In addition to the two species mentioned 

 there is another quite common one. This 

 is the Japanese catalpa (C. ovata, known in 

 22 



the trade as C. Kcempferi) which is frequently 

 planted as an ornamental tree. This species 

 is so much smaller, however, in tree, pod 

 and seed that there need be little danger of 

 confusing it with either of the two others. 



One of the easiest ways to distinguish the 

 hardy or Western catalpa (C. speciosa) from 

 the undesirable C. bignonioides is by the 

 seeds. The seed of the speciosa is wide and 

 flat, about ii to 2 inches long, and the fine 

 hairs at the end continue straight out beyond 

 the seed like the bristles on a flat paint 

 brush. The seeds of bignonioides on the other 

 hand, are usually more slender, and the hairs 

 at the end are drawn together to a point. 



They can be distinguished by the seed 

 pods. Those of speciosa are usually longer 

 than bignonioides and are more bluntly 

 formed, being thicker in proportion to their 

 length, (about f in. wide). As a rule they 

 are borne rather scatteringly and high up in 

 the tree. The pods of bignonioides are more 

 slender (J to J in. thick), are often borne on 

 the lower branches, and there are generally 

 more in a cluster than those of speciosa. 



The bark also furnishes a means of identi- 

 fication. That of speciosa is rough and 

 rather deeply furrowed, like the oak, while 

 the bark of bignonioides is smoother and 

 tends to peel off in scales something like the 

 wild cherry. Yet another way of distin- 

 guishing between these two species is by the 

 flowers. Speciosa blooms a week or more 

 earlier than bignonioides and the individual 

 flowers are larger with fewer in a cluster. 



If a supply of seed can be gathered near 

 home at this season the prospective tree 

 planter may easily raise his own trees. In 

 this way there is no risk of getting the undesir- 

 able bignonioides instead of the speciosa, 

 since the seeds of the two species may be 

 readily distinguished. Seedling plants of 

 the hardy catalpa are offered by nurserymen. 



Sow the seed in the spring in a fine and 

 thoroughly prepared soil, half an inch to an 

 inch apart and cover about half an inch deep. 

 The rows should be eighteen inches apart if 

 it is expected to cultivate by hand ; if horse 

 cultivation is possible make the rows three 



Learn to distinguish the seed pods! Speciosa has 

 the thicKest; bignonioides the longest; ovata the 

 smallest. About 1-12 natural size 



