Conservative *
TUB CATAM'A TKBK ; ITS IMPORT
ANCE IN CO.HMKUCB.
The oatalpa is a largo tree , 60 to 80
feet high , becoming from 2 to 5 feet in
diameter , indigenous to the lower valley
of the Wabash river in Indiana and
Illinois , seemingly preferring the over
flowed alluvial lands. As freshets oc
curred the seed pods wore distributed
along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers ,
forming limited groves in Tennessee and
Missouri. Unlike tree species which
have edible nuts or fruits , although its
seeds are winged , the distribution of the
catalpa spcciosa was not aided by birds
or animals , being almost entirely scat
tered down stream by water.
The beauty of the flowers , quick
growth of the tree , admirable shade and
the extreme durability of the wood , have
combined to cause the dissemination of
the catalpa to all portions of the United
States , and the catalpa speciosa has
proven to bo hardy between latitude
85 ° and 44 ° and from 101 ° west to
New England , and also capable of ad just
ing itself to the soils , location and con
ditions within the above limit.
Upon the sandy semi-arid prairies of
the west , it has been grown successfully ,
and promises oven there to bo a profit
able investment.
The rapid disappearance of the Amer
ican forests , the advancing prices of
lumber , with increasing difficulties ex
perienced in a supply for commercial
use ? , as well as the struggle among com
peting railways to secure enough cross
ties for the maintenance of a safe track ,
bring prominently to every consumer of
wood the question : What shall wo defer
for timber in the future ?
It has been the custom to take the oak ,
a tree which is slow to develop , as a
standard by which to measure every
forest growth , and thus impatient
Americans are discouraged from forest
planting. However , in the catalpa we
have a tree combining many of the
qualities of oak , besides possessing
several features of great value unknown
to the quercus family , and , withal , com
ing quickly to maturity , producing
merchantable sawing timber and several
cross-ties in from fifteen to twenty
years.
The Indian tribes who dwelt in the
Valley of the Wabnsh , or traversed this
region , sought such trees as could bo
easily wrought with their rude imple
ments , and those which were most
enduring , from which to fashion their
canoes , and the catalpa was their favorite
wood.
Wood Has Great Durability.
Usually those woods which are dense ,
and slow to mature , have great dur
ability , while the quick growing trees
with softer wood , soon perish. The re
verse is the case with the catalpa , its
chemical constituents being permanent
antiseptics preserve the fibers from
decay.
The early white settlers in the Valley
of the Wabnsh were instructed as to the
valuable qualities of the catalpa and
they made use of it in constructing their
houses , boats and stockade forts , which
have endured through more than a
century.
General William H. Harrison often
spoke of the oatalpa and urged its culti
vation , since he had known of its many
valuable qualities during his residence
at Viucinnes. Ho had seen this wood
sound and bright more than a century
after it had been placed in the stockades ,
and he used catalpa for posts in his
fence ninety years ago , some of which
are still standing.
The writer procured one of these posts
for the New Orleans Exposition in 1885 ;
it was sound and good for many years
additional service.
Evidences of the durability of catalpa
wood are numerous and convincing.
Several catalpa cross-ties were placed
in the O. O. O. & St. L. , Cairo division ,
in 1879 , one of which was taken out last
summer , (1899) ( ) , having been in constant
use for twenty years.
Mr. J. W. Cowper , Engineer Main
tenance of Way , officially reports of this
tie as follows : "This catalpa tie , taken
out of the track three miles north of
Harrisburg , was put in in 1879 , in mud
ballast. The wood is perfectly solid ,
showing very little signs of decay. * *
With tie plates and good ballast , these
ties would , I think without doubt , last
fully thirty to thirty-five years. "
Mr. Cowper furnished the Indiana
Forestry Association with a half of this
tie. The writer had part of it sawed
into boards and a frame was made and
finished to determine its value as a fur
niture wood.
In appearance it resembles white wal
nut , Juglans cincrca ; also similar in
texture. It is as easily wrought as white
pine ; the polish which it receives places
the catalpa upon a plane with walnut ,
cherry and our finest cabinet woods.
Commercial Value.
The late Dr. John A. Warder made the
subject one of deep study , advocated the
growing of this timber and planted many
catalpa trees.
Mr. H. H. Huunewell , a wealthy
gentleman of Wellesley , Mass. , planted
a square mile of catalpa timber near
Farlington , Kansas , Robert Douglas &
Son contracting to furnish and plant the
trees 2,000 per acre or one and a
quarter million trees. The planting
began in 1879 , Mr. Hunneweli at that
time being G5 years of age.
In 1900 , this plantation of twenty
years' growth , has a value which can
scarcely be estimated , telegraph poles
and cross-ties being supplied. The owner
is still alive to see the benefit of his
investment.
As in most plantations of which I am
cognizant , the Farlingtou forest has been
greatly neglected in recent years.
In a state of nature , where time is no
object , a thousand years as but a day , a
long struggle takes place between the
stronger and weaker treess , both rob
bing the others ; eventually a sufficient
number succeed by destroying the re
mainder.
Where dollars are the object and time
of great importance , as in an artificial
forest , these surplus trees should be
destroyed after the object of close plant
ing has been attained , namely , an upright
trunk free from side branches to a great
height. Otherwise the moisture and
nutriment required by the permanent
trees will be divided and none receive
enough. From a report made by Mr.
Douglas in 1885 many of the trees , six
years old , measured 18 inches girth.
While from sheer neglect and over
crowding there has been a serious loss in
subsequent years.
I have personally measured a large
number of catalpa trees in Kansas , Ne
braska , Iowa , Missouri , Illinois , Ken
tucky , Ohio , District of Columbia and
Indiana , taking trees of known age , and
they have averaged one inch diameter
increase for each year after planting.
Mr. L. W. Yaggy , Lake Forest , Illi
nois , is the owner of a large farm near
Hutchinson , Kansas , on 500 acres of
which are growing catalpa trees ; 13,000
posts were cut in 1898 after eight years
growth , selling for $1,800 , leaving the
remaining trees close enough for perfect
development. Mr. Yaggy considers this
a very profitable investment.
Mr. D. O. Burson , Topeka , Kansas ,
speaking of the value of catalpa ties and
lumber , says : "Notwithstanding it
makes an almost everlasting tie , the
wood is entirely too valuable for that
purpose , as the lumber 40 feet b. ni. in
a tie , is worth $2.00 to $3.00. In fact
there is no lumber grown in the United
States that is more valuable. It takes a
finish equal to San Domingo mahogany. "
A desk was made from a tree which Mr.
Bursou had grown from seed planted
ten years before. It is highly orna
mental , the wood does not warp , ex
pand or contract , says Mr. Burson.
Suel Foster , Muscatine , Iowa cut a
tree of his own planting , at 20 years
from the seed ; it measured 21 inches
across the stump. Furniture was made
from this equal to any cabinet wood.
Demand for Timber by Kailroiuls.
The immensity of the demands for
timber by railroads may be realized
from the following figures :
There are in use today. . . . 780,000,000 cross-ties
Annual requirement for
renewals 112,000,000 cross-ties
Expended annually for ties 100,000,000
Number required during
the next two decades. . , 8,000,000,000 cross-ties
Where shall they be obtained ? Of
what will they be made ? What will be
their cost ? These are pertinent ques-