^rboririiltural, 
THE TULIP-TREE. 
Lyriodendron tulipifera. 
Among the innumerable attractions that charm 
the eye and cheer the heart, in forest and lawn, 
during tho vivifying days of spring, whilo gene¬ 
ral Nature is bedecking with every shado of green 
the deciduous treeB that have hibernated, in 
bleak nakedtiesB, during the frosts and gales of 
winter, there is none that can bo studied with 
keener pleasure than the development of the 
majestic tulip-tree. Towering aloft, often to the 
bight of a hundred and forty feet. Its trunk 
straight as an arrow and, not unfrequently, 
eight or nine feet in diameter, with wide-spread¬ 
ing branches that taper upwards to ft pyramidal 
shape, it presents a mass of flowers 
and foliage on which the eye and miud 
linger with a sense of delighted satis¬ 
faction. With the single exception of 
the Sycamore or Buttonwood, it is the 
largest and loftiest deciduous tree of 
the American forests; whilst to the 
inhabitant of this land its stately 
beauty is enhanced by tho patriotic 
consciousness that it is exclusively a 
native of his own country, where it 
flourishes from Canada to the Gulf. 
Its favorite habitat, however, is in 
some of the Western States, especially 
Michigan and Southern Illinois, where 
the deep, loamy, fertile soil affords it 
so congenial a nourishment that it 
attains there its greatest dimensions. 
Its comparative rareness in tho lower 
parts of the Southern States is due to 
the nature of the soil, which is either M|lli 
too arid,on the sandy high lauds, or too 
watery, among the numerous swamps 
and lagoons. > 
In some parts of the country this 
tree is known by the names of White- 
wood and Canoe-wood, aud still more 
extensively as Poplar or Yellow-Pop¬ 
lar, a flagrant misnomer, as it has no 
resemblance to the Poplar family nor 
any botanical relationship with them. 
It is, however, closely allied to the 
Magnolia family, and as an ornamental 
tree is scarcely inferior to the mem¬ 
bers of that beautiful genus. The 
flowers are large, showy, bell-shaped, 
aud of an agreeable odor. They are 
composed of six broad, variegated pe¬ 
tals, in which yellow predominates, 
succeeded by a conical cluster of seeds 
which fall away from the slender axis 
as they ripen in autumn or sometimes 
in early winter. The leaves, of a bright, 
glossy green, are alternate, frequently 
four inches across, with four lobes, / j \ 
the upper two of which are long aud ( i Igj 
pointed, while those at the sides are V' \ * 
short and truncated. Our Illustration ' 
represents an exact copy of a small, 
terminal branch, with the leaves aud 
conical seed-cluster attached. The 
bark on the young branches is light- 
Lxown aud smooth, but on old trees it 
is cracked and broken by longitudinal 
fissures. 
Tho wood is soft, easily wrought, 
and stronger as well as more durable 
than pine, while the grain is equally 
fine and more compact. It can be 
readily bent to any required shape, and 
hence is useful for building circular 
stair-cases and other curved work. As 
it receives paint well aud admits of a 
brilliant polish, it is employed, almost 
exclusively, for the panels of carriages 
and many purposes in cabinet making. Where 
it abounds, it is frequently used, in the absence 
of pine boards, for tho construction of buildings, 
and all over the country, it is largely employed 
for joists, window-sashes, door-panols. waiuscot- 
iug. and a groat deal of the interior work in 
houses. Its greatest defect is that when em¬ 
ployed in wide boards and exposed to tho weath¬ 
er, it is apt to shrink and warp from alternations 
of dryness ami moisture. 
Tho tree is of rapid growth, hardy everywhere 
in the United States, nod unusually free from 
the attacks of noxious insects. It delights in 
deep, loamy and extremely fertile soils, such as 
are found in the alluvial flats which lie along the 
rivers and in tho rich virgin rocosses of the pri¬ 
meval forests. Except on dry gravelly ground, 
however, It can he cultivated with profit, al¬ 
though the return for the outlay in planting, will 
not bo so speedy as in the case of some other 
trees, for the timber is not valuable until tho 
tree has attained a considerable size. 
The seed produced by young trees is usually 
worthless, and that from the upper branches of 
old trees is considered the best.. Generally, how¬ 
ever, it is gathered from trees of a moderate 
size, from which the soed clusters are picked off 
entire and spread out to dry. when they Sponta¬ 
neously fall apart. If tho seeds arc sown in the 
fall, or mixed with sand and sown early in spring, 
they will germinate and produce plants, from six 
to ton inches high, the first soason. The seedlings 
have large soft roots, with few libers. If it is 
desirable to move tflem, after the first two or 
throe yours, they should, as a rule, he dug up 
after tho first season, and the long, tap-root 
should be shortened to about half its original 
length. This root-pruning forces the plant to 
prt duce side or lateral roots, which absorb a 
much larger amount of nourishment from tho 
THE TULIP-TREE. 
bo than it is possible by one large, •entral tap¬ 
root, which generally penetrates into tho hard, 
barreu subsoil. This process of root-pruning 
and transplanting should bo repeated twice, or 
oven oftener, to insure tho healthy growth of the 
tree. 
It is usually considered that tho tulip is a diffi¬ 
cult tree to make live when dug up from the 
woods; but we have transplanted hundreds, nay 
thousands, of just such trees with perfect suc¬ 
cess, when the stems have been cut down, at tho 
time, to within about a foot of the ground; but 
if this is not done, the trees are pretty certain to 
wilt and die. 
-♦ ♦ -, 
EFFECT OF TREES ON HIGH LANDS. 
Eveky County in England has its Farmers’ 
Club, which holds regular meetings, generally, 
every quarter, during which 1 he members con¬ 
sult on all questions affecting their 
common interests, compare notes, 
make suggestions, and describe any 
special ex peri men Is or experiences that 
might be of Interest or use to their 
brethren. Each County bus its own 
agricultural characteristics In the way 
of soil, climate, physical formation, 
tillugo and pasture, and many valua¬ 
ble lessons are often learned at these 
friendly reunions. 
At the last quarterly meeting of the 
Carmarthenshire Farmers' Club, a 
paper was read by Captain Hoksman 
on “ The Effect of Trees in Reclaim¬ 
ing Mountains and High Lauds.” As 
Carmarthenshire is one of tho moun¬ 
tain Counties of Wales, the subject 
was locally well selected, but tho ad¬ 
dress also contained much information 
that may be of use not only to those 
Of our farmers whoso homesteads are 
similarly located, but also to many 
whose farms are exposed to the tierce 
gales that sweep ovor our bare West¬ 
ern prairies during tho winter months. 
Wo have, therefore, greatly condensed 
the full account given of the address 
WmM0 * n ^ ie M u, 'k Hauo Express : 
The groat effect that Arboriculture 
has upon the general cultivation of 
mountain laud, is a fact that cannot 
be disputed; but, unfortunately, it 
has not been carried out to any extent, 
and generally tho plantations and 
belts of trees have been planted with¬ 
out due regard to the position and re¬ 
quirements of tho farms, tho object 
in view being merely tho planting of 
spots of superficial or useless land, 
whether they happened to bo in val¬ 
leys or uot, with the ulterior view only 
of cutting the timber at a future time. 
There are thousands of acres of high 
lauds, which are now literally swept 
by the cold winds of early spring, ren¬ 
dering them next to utterly valueless 
for growth of corn—lands which have 
the required depth of soil, and which 
contain in themselves the necessary 
-7 elements for the growth of corn or 
' grass, where if tho young blade of 
corn were protected by belts of trees, 
it would produce crops in some oases 
nearly equal to the crops produced in 
the valleys. 
A mountain farmer once told me 
that he was so poor that his pockets 
were the only portion of his breeches 
that were in repair, humorously ac¬ 
counting for the fact by his never hav¬ 
ing a penny in them. What a happy 
thing it would be to reverse the 
position of this man, as well as of his 
brethren, who, as a rule, are all ex- 
VOL. XXXV. No. 15. \ 
WHOLE No. 14-20. I 
NEW YORK CITY, APRIL 
[Entered according to Act of Congress. in the year I-;:, by the Rural Publishing Company, in the office of the Librarian ol Congress at Washington.] 
PRICE SIX CENTS 
*2.50 PER YEAR. 
