DECIDUOUS TREES, 
409 
Fig. 128. 
A CATALPA TREK ON THE GROUNDS OF ALFRED COPE, ESQ , GERMANTOWN, PA. 
killing back, becomes crooked, the wood less healthy, and the roots 
are weakened for the want of a top proportioned to their develop¬ 
ment. A dry deeply-drained soil is necessary to start the tree 
healthily; and we advise always mulching under young trees in the 
fall, and bandaging the trunks with straw, until the rank growth 
of their early years is over. When once the tree is well estab¬ 
lished it does not make the rampant growth that endangers its 
health and gives it so tropical an air in its nursery state; and may 
then be considered hardy and the soil enriched to promote its 
growth. When healthily grown, and exposed to the sun on all 
sides, its large leaves, tropical growth, and the warm tone of its 
foliage, make it one of the finest of middle-sized lawn trees, and 
one that contrasts well with trees of smaller leaves and darker color. 
