214 GLEDITSCHIA i'KIACANTHOS. 
observes, is an infallible sign of the greatest degree of fertility. When cultivated, 
it requires a deep, rich, free soil, and a situation not exposed to high winds. The 
climate should also be somewhat favourable, otherwise the wood of the young 
branches will not ripen, but will annually be killed off by the frost. In Britain, 
the species is always propagated from seeds imported from abroad. They are 
prepared for sowing, by soaking them twelve hours in warm water, as directed for 
those of the Robinia pseudacacia. They should be sown in March or April, and, 
if properly prepared, they will come up in two or three weeks. They are best 
transplanted to the spot where they are finally to remain, when quite young ; as 
they make but few fibrous roots, and these, for the most part, take a downward 
direction. The varieties can only be insured by grafting or inarching on the 
species. In general, however, an abundance of plants of the Gleditschia tria- 
canthos inermis may be selected from beds of seedlings of the species. The rate 
of growth of this tree for the first fifteen or twenty years, is generally about an 
average of a foot a year ; but in favourable situations it will grow at double that 
rate. 
Insects. One of the greatest enemies to the Gleditschia triacanthos is the Can- 
tharis cinera, or the ash-coloured cantharis, of Harris. It usually appears in 
gardens in June, and often the foliage of this species is destroyed by these vora- 
cious insects. Dr. Harris remarks that they are also very fond of the leaves of 
the English bean, and that they are occasionally found in considerable numbers 
on potato vines. It is stated by Smith and Abbot, in their " Insects of Georgia," 
that the Phalsena concinna, or painted prominent moth, feeds upon this tree as 
well as upon the apple, persimon, and hickory. The whole brood most com- 
monly come together. They form their webs about the first of June, and the 
perfect insects make their appearance in about fifteen days after. They likewise 
spin in autumn, and come out the following spring. 
Properties and Uses. The wood of the Gleditschia triacanthos, when dry, 
weighs fifty-two pounds to a cubic foot. It is very hard, and splits with great 
difficulty, resembling in this, and some other respects, that of the common locust; 
but its grain is coarser, and its pores more open. This tree is neither used by 
the builder nor the wheelwright, but is sometimes employed, in Kentucky, 
where it is the most abundant, for rural fences, where wood of a more durable 
kind cannot be procured. Michaux says that the only useful purpose for which 
he thinks the tree fit, is for making hedges, but it has not succeeded either in 
Europe or in America. A sugar has been extracted from the pulp of the pods, 
and a beer' made by fermenting it while fresh. 
In general, this species, as well as all others of the genus, can only be consid- 
ered as ornamental trees ; but in that character, they hold a high rank. The 
delicate, light-green foliage, and beautifully varied, graceful, and picturesque 
forms assumed by this tree, together with the singular feature afforded by its 
spines, will always entitle it to a place in ornamental plantations. 
