3 o8 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



June 



habit of shallow rooting is in part ac- 

 countable for its sprouting tendency as 

 well as for its rapidity of growth and 

 its adaptability to soils underlaid by 

 tenacious subsoil. With favorable soil 

 conditions, Locust trees grow almost as 

 well on slopes and hillsides as on level 

 land. 



The timber of the Locust has found 

 extensive use as fence posts, ribs of ves- 

 sels, tree-nails, telegraphic insulator 



and pruned while young it will produce 

 straight poles 1 8 to 20 feet long. 



It is most commonly used for fence 

 posts, for which purpose it is exten- 

 sively grown. The ease with which it 

 is handled, its rapid growth while young, 

 and its ability to endure extremes of 

 heat and drouth add to its usefulness 

 for this purpose. A post of 4 to 5 

 inches in diameter can be produced on 

 good soil in 7 or 8 years, and when used 



BLACK I.OCTST FOREST PLANTATION, 12 YEARS OLD, IN MEADE COUNTY, KANSAS. 

 TREES 6 TO 8 INCHES IN DIAMETER AND 30 FEET HIGH. 



shanks, and in the manufacture of ve- 

 hicles. It also has been used somewhat 

 for railroad ties and telegraph poles. 

 Its great durability in contact with the 

 soil makes it very valuable for use in 

 the ground, and its toughness and elas- 

 ticity adapt it to use where great strength 

 is required. On account of its tendency 

 to produce a short trunk and numerous 

 branches, it is not well suited for use as 

 telegraph poles and seldom produces 

 one of good length, but if planted thickly 



in the ground will last from 8 to 15 

 years. Unlike man}- timbers, the young 

 wood is almost as durable in the soil as 

 the old, on account of the large propor- 

 tion of heartwood. 



The Locust is one of the mostvaluable 

 trees that can be used for planting in 

 Oklahoma and the Indian Territory, 

 where it is seldom attacked by borers, 

 and where it can be grown for fence 

 p'^ts with a profit often exceeding that 

 to be obtained from agricultural crops. 



