cottonwood trees
In looking for something, anything, that may have happened today in "Little House" history, I read an interesting report written in 1911 (but alas, in July):

What is thought to be the largest tree in De Smet is a cottonwood in A.W. Hoyt's yard that measures seven and a half feet in circumference ten feet from the ground. This tree was set out by David Floyd about thirty years ago. The next largest tree is in W.S. Andrews' front yard, also a cottonwood measuring seven feet. This tree is now being cut down, being past its usefulness as a shade tree. The cottonwood is a rapid growing tree and was quite generally planted in the early days, but it is too short lived to be of much value and no one has planted them during recent years.

Lest people wonder why nobody measured Pa's cottonwoods at the time, I'm sure that trees "so far" out of town wouldn't have been worth fooling with.

The cottonwood (Populus fremontii) is a tree that grows where it can keep its feet wet, i.e. next to a slough. The western side of the Ingalls homestead provided the perfect habitat. If you look around next time you're at the Homestead, there are other cottonwoods still growing around the perimeter of the land. I've seen photos from when most of the 160 acres was in hay, and I'd imagine anything planted farther in just didn't stand a chance.

Everything I've studied says that the life expectancy of a cottonwood is 150 years maximum, and that a 100 year old tree is oooold. If the trees on the Ingalls Homestead are indeed some of the ones Pa planted, then they are already more than 125 years old (if he planted actual trees, not seed). They're not likely to be around for too many more generations to enjoy, except in photographs. [I hardly ever see postcards of the Lone Cottonwood anymore, yet 15 years ago that was a hot item.]

Nobody asked me, but I'd be taking softwood cuttings from those trees every spring and rooting them like crazy, and I'd be collecting the seed from female trees and planting those as well. I'd be nurturing the volunteer trees that spring up by the road, and moving some of them to a site where they'd get less competition from their elders. I know I'd pay good money for one of "Pa's" cottonwood tree clones or offspring, and I bet a lot of other people would too. Don't be waiting 25 years and then thinking something should have been done (and I don't mean selling little disks of dead cottonwood wood...).
- posted by pioneergirl at 3:56 PM