ACACIA TREE. 



ACANTHUS. 



method of propagating it, has been generally 

 resorted to. Whenever a large tree was cut 

 down for use, the ground for some distance 

 around was ploughed, by which operation the 

 roots near the surface were broken and forced 

 up. From these roots suckers would shoot up, 

 and the ground soon become covered Math a 

 grove of young trees. These, if protected 

 from cattle, by being fenced in, would grow 

 most rapidly, and the roots continuing to ex- 

 tend, new shoots would arise, and in the course 

 of a few years, a thrifty young forest of locust 

 trees be produced. The leaves of the locust 

 are so agreeable to horses and cattle, that 

 the young trees must be protected from their 

 approach. When growing in groves they shoot 

 up straight and slender, as if striving to out- 

 top each other, to receive the most benefit from 

 the rays of a genial sun. 



" Another difficulty has arisen in propagating 

 the locust, from inability to raise it from the 

 seed. The seed does not always come to per- 

 fection in this part of the state of New York, 

 and if it does, it will not sprout, unless pre- 

 pared before planting. The method best 

 adapted to this purpose was proposed by Dr. 

 Samuel Bard ; but it is not generally known, 

 or if known, is not usually attended to. When 

 this shall be well understood and-practised, the 

 locust will be easily propagated, and then, in- 

 stead of raising groves of them, the waste 

 ground along fences, and places where the 

 Lombardy poplar encumbers the earth, will be 

 selected to transplant them, as, by having them 

 separated and single, there will be an economy 

 in using the soil, the trees will grow much 

 better, and the timber be stronger. 



"Doctor Bard's method of preparing the seeds 

 was to pour boiling water on them, and let it 

 stand and cool. The hard outer coat would 

 thus be softened, and if the seed swelled by 

 this operation, it might be planted, and would 

 soon come up. This has been followed with 

 success in Long Island ; and on a late visit to 

 North Hempsted, I was led to admire Judge 

 Mitchell's nursery of young locust trees, plant- 

 ed in the spring. 



' The judge took a quantity of seed collected 

 on this island, and put it in an earthen pitcher, 

 and poured upon it water near to boiling. This 

 he let stand for twenty-four hours, and then 

 decanted it, and selected all the seeds that were 

 any ways swelled by this application of heat 

 and moisture. To the remainder he made a 

 second libation of hot water, and let it remain 

 also twenty-four hours, and then made a second 

 selection of the swelled seeds. This was re- 

 peated a third time on the unchanged ones, when 

 nearly all were swelled, and then he prepared 

 the ground and planted them. He planted the 

 seeds in drills about four feet apart, and in 

 eight or ten days they were all above ground, 

 and came up as regular as beans, or any other 

 seeds that are cultivated in gardens. When I 

 saw them, the middle of July, they were about 

 a"ot high, all thrifty and of a good colour 

 an* condition. 



" It is the judge's intention to leave them in 

 their present situation about three years, and 

 then transplant ; and provided he does not mu- 

 tilate the roots in removing them, they will 

 18 



bear transplanting, live, and thrive, and be the 

 most productive forest tree that a farm can 

 have. This method of preparing the seeds 

 and planting the locust, cannot be too warmly 

 recommended to the farming interest. On 

 Long Island, where fencing timber is growing 

 scarce, the cultivation of the locust tree is of 

 great moment. In the centre of the island, on 

 and about Hempsted plains, where there is no 

 timber at all, it must be a most valuable acqui- 

 sition ; and from the trials made in raising it 

 from the seed, all difficulty must be removed 

 to its extensive cultivation." 



After this account was written, Judge Mit- 

 chell transplanted the young trees referred to, 

 on a side hill of waste ground which had lain 

 for many years uncultivated, and his farm was 

 soon improved by the addition of a large grove 

 of valuable locust trees, in the most thrifty con- 

 dition. 



When planted out from the nursery, the 

 young trees must be protected from cattle, 

 which are fond of the young buds. 



Professor Henshaw lately made some expe- 

 riments, with the view of determining how far 

 the vitality of the seeds of the locust acacia 

 was impaired by heat. He put some of these 

 seeds into boiling water ; others he actually 

 boiled \l, 3, 6, and even 15 minutes ; he plant- 

 ed them afterwards in the earth, and they all 

 sprouted and grew in half the time that seeds 

 did which had not been boiled or soaked.] 



ACACIA. The Rose Acacia (Lat. Robinia 

 hispida). This graceful shrub is a native of 

 North America. It grows twenty feet high, 

 when the soil and situation agrees with it, and 

 its beautiful rose-coloured drooping flowers 

 bloom in June. It often blows again in July 

 and August. Its branches are covered with 

 prickles till they are two years old, when they 

 fall off. This gives it the appellation of hispida, 

 or hairy. It loves a good soil, and is very 

 hardy. The flowers bloom on the wood of the 

 same year; therefore the plants should be 

 shortened every season, unless they are planted 

 in a shrubbery, in which case cut away only 

 the dead wood. The smooth tree Acacia (Lat. 

 Mimosa Julibrissin} is a green-house shrub, 

 and a native of the Levant, but it succeeds in 

 the open ground if carefully sheltered from 

 frost and cold wind. It loves a fresh, light 

 mould, and blows its beautiful rose-coloured 

 flowers in August. It is multiplied by layers. 

 The Sponge tree Acacia (Lat. Mimosa furnesi and) 

 is also a green-house shrub ; but it will thrive 

 in the open air if very carefully protected. It 

 comes originally from St. Domingo, and in 

 August it throws out a small head of sweet- 

 scented yellow flowers. It loves a good rich 

 soil, with a sheltered south aspect. It is raised 

 by seed, and multiplied by layers. (L. Johnson.) 



ACANTHA. The prickle of thorny plants. 



ACANTHIS. The plant called groundsel. 



ACANTHUS (Lat.). The name of the herb 

 bear's breech, remarkable for being the model 

 of the foliage on the Corinthian capital. Mil- 

 ton, in his Paradise Lost, iv. 696, speaks of it, 



"On either side 



jJcanthvs, and each odorous bushy shrub, 

 Fenced up tlie verdant wall." 



Todd's Johnson. 



