DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



435 



them stand'until they swelled and burst (as directed 

 by the late Dr. Bard, of N. Y.,) I planted them in 

 the middle of May in drills, and now liave the sat- 

 isfaction of seeing, in iuxiu-ianl g-rowth around me, 

 numbers of these beautiful trees of the size of from 

 10 to 15 feet in height, and having several times 

 headed them down, they have become thick and 

 bushy; these trees are the Robinia jiseud-acacia, 

 very fully described by Michaux in his Sylva 

 Americana, which I now have before me. East of 

 the Allegany mountains, he says, it begins to grow 

 naturally in Pennsylvania, in lat. 40" 20', but west 

 of these mountains it is found 2^ or 3= further 

 north, from the climate bei?ig milder; those trees 

 which are found to the north of this latitude, and 

 in the eastern states, are from planted slocks; and 

 in the southern and middle states it is not often 

 found Avith in fifty miles of the Atlantic. 



Its dimensions vary with the soil and climate. 

 In Virginia and Kentucky it sometimes attains the 

 size of 4 feet diametei-, and 70 or 80 feet high; 

 but this is twice tlie size it attains east of the 

 mountains. The flowers, seed-vessels and graceful 

 foliage, are too well known to need description 

 here. On old trees the bark is thick and deeply 

 furrowed, and the young tree is armed with formi- 

 dable thorns which disappear as the tree grows 

 older ; the value of the wood is well known ; its color 

 varies with the climate and soil in which it grows, 

 as also its durability. That wood is generally es- 

 teemed best whose heart is red, the next valuable 

 is greenish yelloiv, and the least valuable is that 

 with white heart, giving rise to the names of red, 

 green or yellow and white locust; and in the west 

 is a variety sometimes called black locust. The 

 locust, after the third year of its growth, begins to 

 convert its sap into perfect wood, which is not 

 done by the oak, chestnut,beach and elm, till after 

 the tenth or fifteenth year; this, with its great du- 

 rability and rapidity of growth, renders it most 

 valuable for plantation. 



In cultivating them, locusts when young, should 

 be kept up straight and trimmed up to a proper 

 height; and when they branch out, the ends should 

 be topped ofFto thicken the heads. 



Michaux mentions also the Robinia pseudacacia 

 spectabilis, which in its early age is entirely des- 

 titute of thorns; its leaves are larger and growth 

 more rapid than the above; its seeds however pro- 

 duce plants with thorns. 



A variety is also described called Robinia vis- 

 cosa, a rose flowering locust; this however, does 

 not exist naturally north of lat. 35'^; its ordinary 

 stature does not exceed 40 feet, with a diameter of 

 10 or 12 inches; its wood is of a greenish color, and 

 except in size it resembles the common species. 

 This variety will support the winters of New-York 

 and Pennsylvania. 



These appear to be the only varieties of Robinia ; 

 the first described, being that which is common 

 and which is found in Dutchess county, N. Y., rath- 

 er widely spread. 



In tbe neighborhood of Philadelphia, the term 

 Locust is a|>plied to a number of trees that certainly 

 difTer greatly from each other, viz. Wc have the 

 Robinia pseud-acacia, which is commonly known 



as the Locust; we have also what is called the 

 sweet or honey Locust, Gleditschia triacanthos; it 

 is found with us, perhaps a transjilantctl tree, for 

 Michaux saj'S it is peculiar to the country west of 

 the Allegany mountains and to the Cumberland val- 

 ley. In Illinois it is sometimes called Fevier. 

 West of the mountains, Michaux saj's it attains a 

 very ample size, having measured trees there 

 which were 3 or 4 feet in diameter, and with an 

 undivided trunk for 40 feet; its bark detaches itself 

 in plates 3 or four inches wide, and 2 or 3 inches 

 tliick; the trunk is twisted and occasionally with 

 clefts; the branches are covered with thorns sev- 

 eral inches long, woody, and of a reddish color; 

 al-med at some distance from the base with smaller 

 secondary thorns; the leaves are not more than 

 half the size of the common locust; the flowers 

 small and not very conspicuous; the seed pods are 

 much larger than the other, being about 12 inches 

 long, and 1| wide, and contain seeds brown in co- 

 lor of the size of a small flat kidney bean, about 

 half an inch long and surrounded with a pulpy sub- 

 stance, which when ripe, is brown and very sweet; 

 (hence the name.) The wood resembles the locust, 

 but is more porous, and though hard when season- 

 ed, yet is not very valuable. 



There is also a tree or bush called Locust, which 

 is seen in hedges, of the height of about 20 feet; 

 the leaves of which resemble that last described, 

 but the seed-vessels are not so large; the flowers 

 are sweet smelling. Michaux says nothing about 

 it; what is it ? He describes the \Vater Locust, 

 Gleditschia monosperma; this is a tree of southern 

 climate, and is of not much use or beauty. 



As the Locust is a tree of great value, and now 

 much neglected, I have thought the attention of 

 cultivators might be directed to it with advantage. 

 If you have a place for the above in your journal, I 

 will be pleased to see it in the next number. Jl 

 Siibscriber. Tred'jjfin, Chester Co., Pa., Jan. 4, 

 1847. 



CtTLTUEE OF OxALis Bowii. — OxttUs BoivH, by 

 the following treatment, may be made aibeautiful 

 ornament in the flower-garden from the middle of 

 August to November. In July, the beds that have 

 been occupied with early annuals are well manur- 

 ed with leaf mould, or stable dung well decayed, 

 mixing with it a little sand when the soil is stiff. 

 The whole should then be thoroughly dug; after 

 that the bulbs are planted ten inches apart every 

 way, and three inches deep. They will shortly 

 make their appearance above ground, and continue 

 in bloom until the numerous flower stalks are cut 

 down with the frost. They should then be taken 

 up and planted in boxes, or flower pots, and 

 placed in a pit or green-house to ripen the bulbs. 

 When he latter are ripened, the)' are placed in si- 

 tuations out of the reach of frost, and kept dry un- 

 til the season of planting. 



I find there is nothing better than clinkers for 

 draining flower-pots. Most roois delight to run 

 among them, particularly the roots of vines in pots. 

 Yours truly, Richard Farnell. Hamstead, L. I., 

 Feb. 4. 



Climbing Roses. — My hobby is Climbing Roses, 

 and I should be glad to know what there is in the 



