LOG 



LCD 



These locusts are in no way simi- 

 lar to the destructive insects which 

 occasionally devastate the east shores 

 of the Mediterranean and Southern 

 Europe {Gryllus (acri/dium) migrato- 

 riiis), producing famine from their 

 ravages on the grain crops, and pes- 

 tilence by the decay of their bod- 

 ies. The immense numbers of this 

 large grasshopper which move for- 

 ward over whole nations is almost 

 incredible ; they appear like dense 

 black clouds, sometimes hundreds of 

 miles in extent, and emit, during 

 flight, a loud, sharp noise. 



LOCUST-TREE. Rohinia pseuda- 

 cacia. Sometimes improperly called 

 the Acacia. This is a highly orna- 

 mental tree of the leguminous family, 

 and of rapid growth while small. The 

 seeds are usually rather imperfect, 

 and the safest method of propagation 

 is by suckers obtained from trees cut 

 down, the soil being ploughed for the 

 purpose of dividing the roots. The 

 seeds propagate more certainly if im- 

 mersed in boiling water before plant- 

 ing. — (Bard). The following particu- 

 lars from Dr. Ackerly may be accept- 

 able : 



" I was led to admire Judge Mitch- 

 ell's nursery of young locust-trees, 

 planted in the spring. 



"The judge took a quantity of 

 seed collected on Long Island, and 

 put it in an earthen pitcher, and pour- 

 ed upon it water near to boiling. 

 This he let stand for twenty-four 

 hours, and then decanted it, and se- 

 lected all the seeds that were any 

 ways swelled by this application of 

 heat and moisture. To the remain- 

 der 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 repeated a third time on the un- 

 changed ones, when nearly all were 

 swelled, and then he prepared the 

 ground and planted them. He plant- 

 ed 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 gar- 

 dens. When I saw them, the mid- 

 468 



die ot -hily, they were about a foot 

 high, all tiirifty, and of a good colour 

 and condition. 



" It is the judge's intention to 

 leave them in their present situation 

 about tlrree years, . and then trans- 

 plant ; and provided he does not mu- 

 tilate the roots in removing them, 

 they will 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 Hempstead 

 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 Mitchell transplanted the j'oung 

 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 condition. 



" When planted out from the nur- 

 sery the young trees must be pro- 

 tected from cattle, which are fond of 

 the buds." 



The locust yields a timber of great 

 solidity and durability ; it is also re- 

 markably tougli, and resists the ac- 

 tion of moisture; hence it is of great 

 value for posts, piles, and shipping. 

 It is somewhat cultivated, and prom- 

 ises, on the prairies, to become ex- 

 tended for its utility for fencing, fuel, 

 and rapid growth. In the northeast, 

 it has been much injured of late by 

 the borer. Besides the borer, the 

 leaves of the tree are sometimes 

 stripped by the ravages of a large 

 green caterpillar, the larva of the 

 Eudamus tityrus : the perfect insect 

 is seen among the flowers. 



LODGE. A small house situated 

 in a domain ; the house at the en- 

 trance to a park. 



