PRACTICAL ARBORICULTURE 105 



I 





THE HONEY LOCUST. 



( Gleditschia triacanthos. ) 



It is not the intent of the author to seek popularity by following the drift 

 of public opinion when we are convinced that from prejudice or indifference 

 upon one hand, or from financial interests upon the other, the public are in 

 error. 



\Ye champion the cause of the forests against strong opposition, terrible 

 indifference and personal business interests among the public masses, and the 

 determination of timber owners to denude the American forests as rapidly as 

 possible in order that they may get gain thereby, regardless of the rights of 

 the nation, or the consequences to posterity. 



\Ye proclaim the virtues of the catalpa tree, notwithstanding the pre- 

 judged opinions of many doctors of the law, professional scientists, and the 

 erroneous opinions formed from observations of other trees similar in name. 

 And ncnv we present the claims of a tree which has more enemies among 

 farmers and the general public than any other American tree. 



Upon a thousand hills, in many a pasture field, along the highways and 

 by-ways, the thorn}', dwarfish clumps of locusts, growing in clusters, a dozen 

 stems from apparently the same root, seldom exceeding twenty feet in height, 

 grows the honey locust. 



It catches the fleece and tears it from the sheep's back, menaces the cat- 

 tle and horses in the steep hillside pasture, and effectually guards the verdant 

 grass beneath its branches from the intrusion of anxious animals. 



The thorny spines forbid the small boy to climb its trunk in search for 

 eggs and nestlings of the songsters, which thus receive protection. 



The farmer boy inherits a decided hatred for the thorn bush 'neath the 

 branches of which the blue grass grows so luxuriantly, yet can not be reached 

 by the farm animals. 



The boy grows to manhood, and being unable to discover any merit in 

 the thorn bush, causes its destruction, and soon the soil is washed from the 

 hillsides for want of its protecting, roots and fallen branches. Cattle, how- 

 ever, are fond of the honey-like substance in which the seeds are imbedded, 

 within the curled and crimpled pods, and thus the hated tree is preserved from 

 extermination. 



U'ithin the animal's stomach the hard horny shells of the locust seed are 

 softened, swelled, and the process of germination is begun, so that as the 

 seeds are expelled with the excrement, they are prepared for immediate 

 growth, and thus instead of one tree a dozen to twenty are found in one spot. 



