204 BOBINIA PSEUDACACIA. 



freely on every side, and to assume its own peculiar shape, feathering," as Gil- 

 pin says, ''to the ltouikI." 



Projfii^fifion (iitd ('nUurv. The locust may readily he propagated in the moist 

 climate of Britain, hy cuttings of the roots, and also hy large truncheons, as well 

 as hy the surkers, which shoot up in great numhers in that country, and to a 

 considcralilo distance aroiuul the trees; but, in general, l)()tli in llurojK' and in 

 Amrrica. the simplest and the best mode is by seeds. According to M. Roland, 

 the elder, a distinguished French agriculturist, the most favourable time for 

 sowitiiz. is late in the year, when, he says, the seeds germinate best; but ihey 

 mav either be sown as soon as they are ripe, in October, or in the .March or April 

 following. Whether they be sown in autumn or spring, they will come up the 

 ensuing summer, and the plants, by the end of the season, will be fit either for 

 traiis|)iautine into nursery lines, or to the places where they are finally to remain. 

 The seeds, if exposed to the air two years after being gathered, lose their power 

 of vitality ; but if they be kept in their pods, and buried a considerable depth in 

 dry soil, they will remain good for five or six years, or perhaps longer. As seed- 

 bearing trees seldom produce two abundant crops in succession, a reserve should 

 be kept from one year to another. The great difficulty experienced in causing 

 locust seeds to vegetate, operates as a discouragement with many, as they require 

 to be prepared before sowing, in order to soften their hard and shelly pericarps, 

 or hornlike envelopes, in which nature has deposited their germs. A writer in the 

 " ]Maine Cultivator," recommends pouring water over the seeds, previously heated 

 to the boiling point, and suffering it gradually to cool. After twenty-four hours, 

 to decant the water from the seeds, and select such as have opened, for imme- 

 diate sowing. He also recommends another mode, and perhaps a somewhat 

 more economical one, so far as time is concerned, which is, to subject the seeds 

 to the action of nitric acid, mixed in the proportion of half an ounce to two quarts 

 of water. The seeds are to be steeped in this mixture for twenty-four hours before 

 sowing, and the water kept tepid, or slightly warm, by means of a stove or oven. 

 By this process the perfect seeds will at once evince signs of vitality and germi- 

 nation, while those which remain unaffected at the end of twenty-four hours, 

 will probably be unsound, and may be thrown away. An experiment is related 

 in AVither's "Treatise," by the results of which, it appears that, "immersion in 

 hot water accelerates germination, but tends to destroy or injure the seeds." 

 Mr. Loudon, in his "Arboretum Britannicum," remarks that, steeping Aus- 

 tralia and Cape acacia seeds for twenty-four hours, in water which had been 

 poured on them in a boiling state, or nearly so, accelerated their germination 

 nearly two years. Great caution should be observed, however, in experiments 

 of this kind, as even a short continuation of seeds in water at the temperature of 

 212 F., must of course destroy the vital principle. The seeds should be sown 

 in a good, free, warm soil, rather rich than otherwise, an inch or two apart every 

 way, and covered with finely pulverized earth, from a quarter to three-quarters 

 of an inch deep. In fine seasons, the plants will grow from two to four feet in 

 height ; the largest of which may be removed in the following autumn, to the 

 places where they are finally to remain, and the others may be transplanted 

 into nursery lines. In regard to the removal of the locust, Loudon observes, 

 that "it will transplant at almost every age, and with fewer roots than almost 

 any other tree." The trees should never be suffered to stand nearer than fifteen 

 feet apart, in any soil, and should they be consigned to a soil thin and light, they 

 should be planted at least twenty feet asunder. As they advance in age and 

 growth, care should be taken to clear out all broken branches or dead wood from 

 their tops, and to keep down their suckers, which will sometimes issue from their 

 roots, where the soil is moist and rich. Under favourable circumstances, the 



