THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 213 



THE YELLOW AND HONEY LOCUST FOB HEDGES. 



" The fair Queen of Spring, as she passed down the vale, 

 Quaffed the nectar of locusts in every mild gale : 

 Its fragrance and odor replenished each breeze, 

 And lily-white glory environed the trees." CAMPBELL. 



288. The yellow locust and honey locust are indigenous in the 

 United States, and nourish luxuriantly in almost every locality 

 where there is not an excess of water in the soil where they are 

 planted. They are among the most beautiful ornamental trees, 

 and when in full bloom the yellow locust seems most delightful. 

 Both of the kinds already mentioned are very hardy and great 

 feeders, the roots of the yellow locust growing to an almost in 

 credible length in one season. The honey locust bears bunches 

 of long and sharp thorns, from two to three inches in length, 

 presenting such an ugly appearance as to deter almost any ani 

 mal, man not excepted, from climbing up into it ; but the thorns 

 of the yellow locust are small and short, and deciduous on the 

 main stem and limbs of the trees when they are a few years old. 

 The honey locust is said to be a very common tree in the forests 

 of some of the "Western States, and when found on rich bottom 

 lands, it attains a growth equal in height to most other trees 

 which surround it. The timber of the honey locust is somewhat 

 hard, and rather porous, and is sometimes made use of for cabinet 

 purposes, and sometimes for posts and rails for building fences. 

 The timber of the yellow locust, of thrifty trees, is remarkably 

 tough and firm, and durable when exposed to the influences of 

 the weather. On account of its excellence in resisting the action 

 of moisture, it is used in preference to almost any other timber 

 for pins and wedges, and such like, in ship-building. For fence 

 posts it is not inferior in point of durability to white oak, and for 

 carriage hubs it is not inferior to the best of birch. In some 

 localities the yellow locusts have been entirely destroyed by the 

 ravages of the borer and the large green caterpillar. But the 

 borer seldom attacks any other part of the tree excepting- the 

 body, for six or eight feet from the ground. But if the epidermis 

 or dead part of the bark be all scraped off or shaved off, to the 



