412 ROBINIA 



12 ins. thick. It flowers very prettily every year in June, and frequently a 

 second time in August. It differs from R. Pseudacacia in its bristly pods, and 

 from R. viscosa in the young twigs not being viscid. It is said to be found 

 more often as a shrub than as a tree in a wild state. 



R. HOLDTII, Beissner. A hybrid between R. neomexicana and R. Pseud- 

 acacia whose racemes are looser and longer than in R. neomexicana and the 

 flowers of a paler colour. The keel and wing-petals are almost white, the 

 standard pale red with white markings. Habit and vigour of growth similar 

 to those of R. Pseudacacia. Pod rather glandular. Obtained by Mr Von 

 Holdt, Alcott, 1 , Colorado, and put into commerce about 1902. 



R. PSEUDACACIA, Linnceus. LOCUST, ACACIA. 



A deciduous tree, 70 to 80 ft. high, with a large, rounded head of branches, 

 and a trunk 2 to 4 ft. in diameter, covered with a rugged, deeply furrowed 

 bark. Leaves pinnate, 6 to 12 ins. long ; leaflets in five and a half to eleven 

 and a half pairs, oval or ovate, I to 2 ins. (sometimes 2-|) ins. long in the 

 typical form, covered with silvery hairs when quite young, eventually nearly 

 smooth. Stipules at first \ in. long, downy, becoming stout, persistent 

 spines I in. long ; most conspicuous on young trees and suckers. Racemes 

 3 to 5 ins. long, i to 2 ins. wide, pendulous. Flowers f in. long ; white, 

 fragrant ; each on a slender stalk, \ in. long ; standard petal blotched with 

 yellow at the base ; calyx in. long, downy. Pod 2^ to 3^ ins. long, J in. 

 wide, upper seam winged, lower one thickened, containing four to ten seeds, 

 smooth. 



Native of the eastern United States ; introduced to France about 1635, 

 and to England in 1640. The first plant sent to France was planted by 

 Vespasien Robin in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, where the ancient stump 

 still remains. As an ornamental tree the Robinia has much to recommend 

 it. Its graceful feathery foliage is singularly effective in healthy L.JS, and 

 when the tree is loaded with its white racemes in June the contrast of white 

 and green is very effective. It grows with great rapidity when young, 

 and its branches are apt to be broken off by wind in consequence. A 

 judicious shortening back of the shoots in winter is helpful in inducing a 

 sturdier growth. When old, the tree is apt to lose its large branches by 

 their splitting off from the main trunk, or if the tree has been allowed to 

 " fork," nearly half of it may be lost at a time. The best way to prevent this 

 is to keep the tree to a single leader until it is at least 25 ft. high, so that 

 one strong straight trunk is formed, and no branch allowed to develop 

 sufficiently to rival it. It is propagated by seeds or by the suckers the roots 

 produce so plentifully, especially after the parent tree is felled. 



Perhaps no American tree has made itself so thoroughly at home in 

 Europe as this. The railway cuttings south of Paris are in places com- 

 pletely overrun with it, and I have noticed it thoroughly established in 

 the Rhone Valley above Geneva, and on the hillsides between Trieste and 

 the Chateau of Miramar. 



The locust produces a timber valuable on account of its peculiar quality of 

 resisting decay in contact with the soil. On this account it is highly valued 

 for making gate-posts and similar articles. Owing to the representations of 

 William Cobbett, the famous Radical, who about 1825 to 1828 extolled the 

 tree and its uses in his own peculiarly vigorous fashion, quite a mania for 

 the tree was'established. He himself set up as a dealer in seeds and plants, 

 and to such purpose had he written up the tree and its virtues that he was, 

 for a time, unable to meet the demand, although it is recorded that he 

 imported seeds from America in tons. It did not prove a success as a forest 

 tree, and is now rarely planted except for ornament. But every few years a 



