Rural School Leaflet 951 



locust tree blown over by the wind? Do you think good strong roots 

 would hold a tree in position against hard winds and storms? 



3. What do the flowers of the locust tree resemble? Notice the leaflets 

 of the locust on a bright, sunny day, and then on a still night; notice how 

 they have folded together; or in cloudy, cold, or rainy weather, see how 

 the leaflets behave. It is one of the habits of members of the pulse family 

 to fold their leaves together at night. If there are pods on the tree, 

 how many seeds are in the pods ? How are they fastened to the pods ? 



4. In winter notice how the winter buds, which contain the be- 

 ginnings of next summer's leaves, are protected by being depressed and 

 covered with a scale-like covering, the inside of which is lined with a woolly 

 growth. The tree makes all this careful preparation against cold weather, 

 which might injure the tender leaves in the buds. 



5. If you can find a locust tree that has been cut down and sawed into 

 logs, count the rings of growth on the end of one of the logs. How many 

 rings are there from the center to the edge? Does the tree show a 

 rapid growth? 



6. If a tree is injured, sap will flow from the wound. If the locust 

 tree that you are observing has been damaged by the borers, notice how 

 the sap has run. Be careful not to cause trees needless wounds by 

 chopping into them or by severely bruising the inner bark. 



7. The purpose of the bark is to protect the growing part of the tree, 

 which is just under the bark. How thick is the bark on the locust tree? 

 The sap carries water and plant foods from the roots to the leaves and 

 from the leaves to the growing parts of the tree. That is why it is so 

 important to keep the bark from being injured, for if the bark is cut or 

 bruised or bored into by insects the tree loses sap and is weakened. 



8. Compare the blossoms on the locust tree with the blossoms of the 

 common sweet pea of the garden. Compare the fruit with the pea or 

 the bean, grown in a garden. 



9. Take some of the seeds of the locust and soak them in hot water 

 (not boiling, but about 135 to 150° F.) for several hours. Do this for three 

 or four successive days, or until the seeds swell, taking care not to let them 

 dry out at any time. Plant them in soil in a box that can be kept in a 

 warm, sunny place, and compare them with seeds sown at the same time 

 but not previously soaked in hot water. Give them water each day in 

 order to keep the soil moist. See how many days it takes for the soaked 

 seeds to genninate. Have the seeds that were not soaked begun to show 

 signs ot germinating? How do you account for the success of locust trees 

 in growing from seed in nature? 



10. The presence of nodules on the roots of legumes is a family char- 

 acteristic. Look on the fibrous roots of young locust trees and see whether 

 you can find nodules. 



