134 CONVERSATIONS ON THE 



" Oh; vsry large. Uncle Philip ; some of 

 them more than a foot long." 



" Yes ; and none of the other kinds have 

 pods more than three or four inches long : and 

 the pods of the water locust, which is the last, 

 are still smaller and of a different shape, too, 

 for they are almost as broad as they are long ; 

 they grow together in bunches, and each pod 

 has in it but one seed, whereas all the other 

 kinds have three or four seeds in each 

 pod." 



" Does it grow in the water. Uncle Philip ?" 



" Yes ; it is never found except in swamps, 

 where the soil is constantly wet, and often 

 overflowed when the waters rise in the rivers. 

 It, grows fifty or sixty feet high, and a foot 

 and a half or two feet in diameter. The 

 bark of the young trees is smooth, but on the 

 old ones it is cracked like the bark of the 

 oak. The branches are armed with thorns, 

 but they are not as long as those of the honey 

 locust : the leaves are almost the same : 

 the flowers are quite small, and green : the 

 wood is very inferior, and no use is made of it, 

 I believe. 



" Now, my dears, here is a picture for you 

 to look at; notice the prickly leaves, with 



