THE LOCUSTS 



89 



France about the year 1600. 

 The black locust was one of 

 the first American trees to 

 be planted in Europe, and 

 at once became fashionable 

 for its beautiful flowers and 

 foliage. Later, its culture 

 was neglected until near the 

 close of the eighteenth cen- 

 tur}', when its value as a 

 timber crop and soil im- 

 prover was recognized. In 

 1786, de Creve-Coeur pre- 

 sented a paper before the 

 Agricultural Society of 

 Paris, eulogizing the black 

 locust and giving facts 

 about its culture and uses 

 in the United States. Ac- 

 cording to this writer, the 

 colonists learned very earh' 

 of the value of this tree and 

 Massachusetts offered 

 prizes for the best planta- 

 tions. He mentions a 

 farmer of Long Island who 

 planted 14 acres of pasture 

 land to black locusts and 

 gave the plantation no care 

 except to keep out cattle. 

 Twenty-two years later he 

 sold some of the wood to a 

 ship's carpenter for £260 8s. 

 4d., and three years later 

 he obtained a similar sum 

 from the sale of additional 

 timber from the planting. 

 De Creve-Coeur continues: 

 "The Americans think 

 so highly of this tree that I 

 have heard many colonists 

 express sentiments to the 

 following effect: 'May 

 Heaven grant that when I 

 die, I may be able to leave 

 to my children 50 acres of 

 land planted with acacias, 

 and well enclosed! My 

 house may be destroyed by 

 fire, my harvest may fail, 

 the contracts I hold be 

 violated by cross events and 

 bankruptcies — whatever 

 else I may have may perish 

 • — but if I live long enough 

 to accomplish this great 

 object of my wishes, I shall 

 have no reason to dread 

 death. My family will be 

 secure and will find in this 



BARK OF BLACK LOCUST 



The bark on trunks of black locust trees of all ages is thick and rough, varying 

 in color from reddish brown to dark gray, and separated into heavy, rounding 



ridges. 



EASILY DISTI.XGUISHED BY ITS FRUIT 



The fruits of the black locust are straight, dull-brown pods, two to four inches 

 long. They split open easily, e.iposing from four to eight flattened, smooth 

 brown seeds. The seeds ripen in the autumn but many of the pods hang on 

 the trees until the following spring. 



treasure all the resources 

 that they may require in 

 order to enjoy a sufficient 

 competence.' " 



It was decreed during 

 the French Revolution that 

 May sixth of each year 

 should be consecrated to 

 the black locust, and the 

 following description ap- 

 peared in the Cultivator's 

 Year Book, for use in the 

 schools : 



"Acacia (false), a large 

 spiny tree, a native of North 

 America. It grows rapidly; 

 its foliage is very graceful 

 and casts a light shade; its 

 flowers arc white and very 

 odoriferous, and a useful 

 syrup is made from them; 

 the j-oung shoots are good 

 for cattle ; the root is tender 

 and saccharine, having the 

 scent and flavor of stick 

 liquorice ; the wood is veined 

 and hard, it splits readily 

 and does not decay when 

 exposed to the action of 

 either air or water. It is 

 used for hop poles, vine 

 props, mill work and other 

 machinery. In America it 

 is preferred for the stem 

 posts and knees of vessels." 



The black locust is a 

 medium-sized tree, seldom 

 attaining its maximum size 

 of 80 or 90 feet in height 

 and 3 or 3 ^ feet in diame- 

 ter. Average mattire trees 

 are 50 to 60 feet high and 

 1 8 or 20 inches in diameter. 

 Trees growing in the forest 

 have straight, slender 

 trunks, clear of side 

 branches for most of their 

 length and forming a nar- 

 row, oval top. In the 

 open, black locust usually 

 branches low or divides into 

 several stems; the top does 

 not spread widely, and is 

 open, rounded and irregu- 

 lar. The bark on trunks of 

 trees of all ages is thick and 

 rough, varying in color from 

 reddish brown to dark graj^, 

 and separated into heavy 

 rounding ridges that are free 



