Highways and Highway Transportation

by George R. Chatburn

Camphor.—The Camphor Tree (Cinnamomum camphora) is quite commonly planted for street trees in the Southeastern, Southern and the Southwestern states. The tree is a thrifty grower and is nice and straight. The leaves and wood have the characteristic aromatic camphor odor, and from them can be extracted the juice. Another tree of the same genus C. zeylanicum has also been imported from Asia and may be found in the same states. From the roots is obtained cassia bark.

Catalpa.—Was planted extensively a few years ago because it was thought it would quickly develop timber large enough for fence posts and ties in a few years. The best variety is the Catalpa speciosa, which grows under favorable conditions to a height of 60 feet, with a spread of 30 feet. The leaves are large and of good color, but slow to appear in the spring and drop at the first frost in the fall. The flowers are very showy. For this reason, its general shapely appearance, and its rapid growth, it is a good road tree. It does not seem to be very long lived, and as a street tree it is objected to by those having close cropped lawns because of its bad habit of shedding its long seed pods all summer.

Cedar.—There are many species of cedars, both red and white. The arbor vitae has already been mentioned. Juniperus virginiana is perhaps the best road tree. It grows from 50 to 80 feet tall with a spread of one-quarter to one-third its height. It is suitable in nearly every place where evergreens can be utilized. Its pyramidal shape makes it well adapted to formal landscape architecture and hence would make a good road tree for avenue planting.

Citrus Fruit.—Orange, lemon, grapefruit, and citron are freely planted in Florida and California. Where these come up to the highway they answer for road trees. The citrus trees have a beautiful dark green shiny foliage with a round top, and with their flowers and ripening fruit are always interesting.

Coffee Tree.—A good lawn or park tree, but a very few specimens will be sufficient.

Cherry.—The wild cherry, Prunus serotina, also called black-cherry, grows native over much of the eastern and central portions of the United States. It is the tree from which the cherry wood is obtained. It is hardy, grows to a good height, 40 to 80 feet, with a spread of 20 to 40 feet. It is a good road tree spoken of by one writer as “charmingly unconventional,” and bears a slightly bitter pea-sized fruit of which the birds are fond. It is deserving of larger planting as a road and street tree. The chokecherry is a much smaller tree, from 5 to 20 feet high and can be used in massing and screening. The blossoms in the spring and a little later the fruit of which birds are extremely fond, make it worthy of attention. The Japanese flowering cherry and tame cherries are sometimes used for their blossoms.

Cottonwood.—A species of poplar found native from Maine to Florida and westward to the Rocky Mountains. Being so hardy and a rapid growing tree, it was planted freely by the early settlers in the plains regions of the Mid-west. A variety known as Carolina poplar grows especially straight and tall, from 75 to 100 feet, with a spread of 25 to 30 feet. The cottonwood is not strong and is liable to be broken in the wind, because of this fact old trees are usually more or less unsightly. The shedding of cotton from the pistilate tree is objected to, but this trouble may be avoided by propagating only from staminate trees by cuttings. Nevertheless it is a valuable tree where rapid growth and quick shade is desired.

Chestnut.—The chestnut (Castania vulgarus) and one or two other species was formerly an important timber tree in the Eastern states. The tree when not in foliage looks something like red oak. It grows to a height of 75 to 100 feet, 5 to 12 feet in diameter. In Europe a chestnut is mentioned 204 feet in circumference. The spread of the tree is from one-fourth to one-half its height. The nuts are edible. A bark disease has carried off most of the Eastern trees, and the larvæ of insects almost universally infect the nuts. However, it is a rapid grower and might be worth planting where it is known to thrive.

Cucumber Tree.—A large, handsome tree, symmetrical, 50 to 75 feet in height of the magnolia family, its fruit resembling cucumbers. It is a native of the Eastern states.

Cypress.—The bald cypress, though a large tree and of commercial importance, has little value as a road tree because it grows in swamps, the very worst place for a road. It might be utilized in the lake of a park.