:6Y
or
Garden
VOL. LXVI
INDIANAPOLIS, FEB. 25, 1011.
inO. 8
t; ROWING AM) CAHE OF CATALPA
TREES.
ri  Indiana Farmer:
often of late I have read in farm pa-
advlce on how to plant and  care
f.ar Catalpa trees and much of what ls
written on this subject is "very wide of
the mark."    During the  last six years
I have planted and cared for one hundred  and   fifty  acres   of   Catalpa   trees,
150,000   trees,   and   these   trees   I   have
planted on my    own land,    good, rich
farming land in  central  Ohio.     I have
planted trees strictly as a business prop
osltlon, expecting to make more money
out of my Catalpa trees  than  I  could
.■ut of farm  crops.     I want to tell the
many   readers   of   the   Indiana   Farmer
how I have    planted    these trees
cared  for  them,   and  you   may be
sure I have sought the  best and   most
practical methods for  doing  the  work,
assure  you  the  labor  of  planting
nnd caring for     150  acres     of Catalpa
trees amounts to something.
The  flrst  and  most  important  thing
in planting Catalpa trees ls to be sure
you  are   getting   the   genuine   Catalpa
Speciosa.    About   the   only  way  to   be
sure of getting the true variety of Catalpa is to d imand a written guarantee
from the nursery selling the trees that
are    true Catalpa    Speciosa,    and
in the guarantee that if the trees
>t prove true to name the nurseryman  will  pay  you   ten   times  the   purchase price of the trees.    Verbal prom-
of    traveling     tree   pedlers     are
worthless and a written guarantee from
tree agent     if of no  value     unless
1 lay the nursery flrm or their authorised   agent.    There   have   been   so
many millions of the worthless "scrub"
i|)as sold   to   farmers,   all   of  them
guaranteed the purest of the pure Spe-
. that I want to urge intending tree
planters to buy no Catalpa trees Without a guarantee back of  them  that is
"orth something.    The  ordinary guarantee  is  to  replace  free  all  trees  that
prove not true to name, but much satisfaction   this   is   to   the   man   who   has
Planted   and   cared   for  trees   three   or
four years,  then     to  find     he  has  the
worthless "scrub" variety.   I wish every
farmer who  roads  this  would  cut  out
;<nd paste in his hat the part that warns
,0 demand  a written guarantee of ten
'lines the  purchase  price  for  all  trees
n°t true to name.    This simple precau-
on the part of buyers will soon put
"ut of business the  dishonest  or care-
s  nurseryman.
N'ow when you are sun- you have the
true  Catalpa  Speciosa   trees,   plow   the
cr°und where you wish to set them just
as early in the spring as possible;  run
* disk  or  harrow  over   it  as  for corn;
'"ark   it   out   both   ways   (and   a   good
'■an to do this is to nail  op a rough
'"'   of   oil   boards,   with   the   runners
»e width you want the rows apart, and
raST this sled  over the ground with  a
ieam).    The runners will leave
a Sood  mark  to  sat  the   trees  by,   an!
*n*n the ground  is marked both ways
lve the exact spot clearly indica-
') ""here  to set the  trees  in  order to
tkem  in   line.     Of course,   you can
,ch a string if only planting a few
Jidred trec" and get them straight.
'•*"- you are ready to plant take a
woe and sink it atralght down in the
"tht or ten inches just where you
"t the tree;  use  the  handle  of the
as a pry,  working it  back    and
until the ground is opened enough
to admit the tree to the proper depth;
stick the Catalpa tree Into the opening
just a little deeper than it grew in th.
nursery; Jill In line soil and tramp down
veiy ilrmly (and this tramping and
firming of the soil is the most important
part of the work). Plant your trees
■ aiiy, before the weather wets hot,
tramp the dirt solidly on the roots and
every tree will grow if tliey are well-
riaaated trees and not dried out In shipment.
.Now you have the trees planted, cultivate  them Just as you would a  corn
lone  j;..  ovar  th, t   mi.  nit
"11   lllld.s Or   sprouts   but   the   oil.
started at the top of the little tr,. . The
-I'I a.lit        M        left    Will        grow |a, I :
lit     all   through      the     HUoa      ut
growth   aii.l   no   branched   will   start   mi
ii,  nothing l.ut graat big i.
don't disturb the  leaves, as the leaves
of a tin- aire its lungs and just as Important to its life as are lungs to an
animal.
Go over the trees in the spring of
their second years' growth an.l treat
them  the same way.    The spreuts rub
Mr.  Roger's Grove ot Three  Year  Old Catalpa  Speciosa.
crop, and you can use the same tools
for cultivation that you use for your
corn crop. Cultivate the trees the second year and lt won't hurt them at all
if it is continued thru the third year.
Catalpa trees make a most surprising
growth when well cultivated for three
years. A crop of potatoes can be
grown with them the flrst and second
year if desired. Where trees are
planted on land too rough or stony to
allow of plowing and cultivating, all
that can be done Is to spade up a hole,
set the tree and if possible mulch each
tree with a couple of forks full of
coarse, barn-yard mnndre nr rotten
straw. A good mulch will answer the
same purpose as cultivation ln giving
the trees a vigorous start.
The second important thing is to
care for your tn is so they w ill grow
straight bodies. Many authorities '
recommended that the trees be allowed
to grow two or three years and then cut
them oft at the ground, when they will
send up vigorous sprouts that shoot up
straight the first year. This pia I
cutting off two or three year old trees
in order to get a straight sprout is all
wrong and unnecessary and besides
makes a lot of work and The
sprouts that grow so rapidly are very
tender gad m-sOy broken by the wind
until late in the summer. I have known
of more than half of them being broken off In June.
My  plan  of raring for Catalpa   I
to get a straight body growth Is thisf—
Affr the tree ls well started to grow In
the   spring,   sprouts   one   or   two   inches
off with the hand easily, If taken nt the
right time, and a man can go over two
thousand or more trees in one day. The
plctura shows some of my tries tliat
have been treated as above describe.I.
These trees were In their third summers' .growth when the picture was
taken, an.l I certainly think It would be
a foolish man who would advocate cutting th. se trees off In Order to gel
straight bodii s. Catalpa wuod Is very
durable In tla' ground and mak.
best of fence posts; In fact, it Is a valuable wood for almost any us. . b
a beautiful grain and taking a high
finish easily.     My ol I twenty-
five aere Held of them, have had live
as growth and I am going thru
them this winter, cutting th' !■• si. They
are larce enough for light fenee i
running from 4 */4 to r, inches thick at
the  ground,   but   I  am   not  using   I
posts. I have found
that Catalpa wood makes b. tter ball
bats than ash and I am making th-   but
cut of theae trees into ball bats,    i tea*.
. say that  I   plant my trees about
1000 to the aere. which  is r.xx  ft.  They
will grow to post size planted this .
if the soil is fairly goo.!, without undue
crowding.
If farmers knew how easy ft in to
grow their own fence posts they would
soon <iuit paying out good money for
Ihem. In addition to the value of the
posts,   an Catalpa   trees   set   SO
as to protect the barns and sheds from
tins   winter   winds.   Is   worth   so   much
n  it in dollars
and  cents.    Some old    writer has said.
'No oaa enn reach Heaven wno has not
I'lalll tl ai.    the  man
who   j,hints   a   thousand   treea   ought   to
have fair sailing alta a   ha ocoaaaa tha
river. n   C. lu-gere.
Mechanicsburg, Ohio.
l>\\«.i it HOD mit.
Killtor*  Indiana. Parmer:
Tin j.rex.ili ik •■ ,af typhoid fever In
many sections calls for precaution on
the part of    .   . especially of
farmers,  as this trouble appears worse
In rural sections.
A small rainfall caused the drying up
of wells and the limited water ls so
bnd as to make it dangerous to
This  Ik  not   the   worst   feature   ln   the
• ut   situation.
Typhi.hi fever is undoubtedly a germ
trouble, but we must not forget that It
eaii In- a.anti an ted In other ways than
In drink.
In our eities and towns the system
of carrying off all the wastes Into nearby streams thru sewers is eommon.
(lur town Is a sample.     1 >. . r Creak runs
thru the corporation. Three largo
sewers carry thaaa wastaa to the
mie of them empties Into tha
creek mar the main street and within
R0 roils of the public square.
The largest sow i r deposits all Its filth
on a sand bar wle i. it Ilea till a rise In
the creek moves it. Any warn, damp
morning the stench la very offensive and
ls noticed up and down the creek quite
a distance.
• mr board of health Is very active In
fori ing citizens to obey the rules of the
Btati iioari. even t" the point of
"straining .-at ■ gnat while swallowing a
camel,"   In   dial violations   of
rulaa Of health, tho thay do not emanate
from the .state Board.
There is still another \iew n. \, i looked  at    in this matter.    This
If put to a  prop, r use. won!.
of much valu.   to our l.Tnds In the production   of  bath thru   iner.
fertility.    At the chloaco stock  Tarda
and   racking  Houses   not   a   particle   of
UK'S offensive.
Every thing   is turned into    fertilising
mat. rial for um- nn  tin   farms.
This should b.. dona with the sewage
of dtiea and towns, and  In this way rid
I of contaminating germs and
offensive odors and tin- people from
danger  and   annoyance.
In the ol.ler countries of the world
(notably China) where the land has
been tilled for thousands of years, without losing Its fertility, all those wastes
are used and to tin- very lust advatu
Landi In the I'nited States, not y.t tilled
half a century, are starved to the verge
of non-production.
' inr legislative bodies and Mate
Hoards of Health should investigate
these systems of Spreading disease
germs, contaminating and polluting our
•ns. and annoying thi people with
pestiferous odors, and also devlaa ways
and means to turn these poisons to
beneficial us< s. J. H. Ha
I ll:-l     M'l.t I\I."     IN    OKI.AIIOMV
On January 20 to 27 the first agricultural train operated In Arkansas
run over thi- r.ock Island Lines and
stopped at fifty towns, where there was
a total attendance Of 18.018. The train
was a Diversified Farming Special. On
one day eight towns were visited and
the lectures on all subjects were heard
by 4,488 persons.