THE TULIP TREE. 



It is fast decaying, and has a large hol- 

 low in its trunk in which, some years 

 ago, a wild dog made her lair with a 

 family of puppies, coming out at night 

 to steal our poultry, and hiding so well 

 in the old tree by day that it was long 

 before she was discovered. In a few 

 years it is too probable that not 

 one of these Tulip trees will re- 

 main at Rose Brake. The grove 

 here was for many years used as 

 pasture for cattle, and the seed- 

 ling Tulip trees, self-sown in 

 many parts of it, were all de- 

 stroyed before they attained any 

 considerable size. Forthelastfew 

 years we have protected a part 

 of the grove, and now we have a 

 copse of young Tulip trees grow- 

 ing rapidly. 



As a timber tree this is re- 

 markable beyond all other de- 

 ciduous trees east of the Rocky 

 Mountains for the straightness, 

 length, and size of its trunk. I 

 have heard of a Tulip tree in the 

 valley of the Maumee, the timber 

 ofwhichsquared48 by 54 inches, 

 and was 60 feet in length. Trees 

 are not uncommon which have 

 1 00 feet in length of straight tim- 

 ber. It is therefore not remark- 

 able that the wood of the Tulip 

 tree should be much sought after by 

 lumbermen. At one time it commanded 

 a fancy price, as it was in much demand 

 by coachmakers, who used it for the 

 bodies of their vehicles. It is a very soft 

 and pliable wood, and is easily bent 

 into any required shape. Modern me- 

 thods of manufacture have simplified 



the process of carriage-making, and I 

 am told that other woods are now pre- 

 ferred for the purpose, and that the 

 Whitewood, as it is called by lumber- 

 men, does not now command a very 

 high price, though I believe it is still 

 used to some extent by cabinetmakers, 



TULIP TREE LEAF AND FLOWER. 



and in the inside finishing of houses. 

 Thebarkisof a light colour and soft tex- 

 ture, and divided into deep and lattice- 

 like ridges and furrows, much like that 

 of the White Ash. It is now included 

 in the family of the Magnoliaceae. 



Though the seeds of Tulipifera ger- 

 minate freely, young trees are not easy 



A 4 



