mental and street purposes because of its handsome, finely divided foliage 

 which resembles that of acacia, its large conspicuous pods and branched 

 spines. McLaren states that it should make a good street tree on this ac- 

 count, since the spine-covered branches would cause boys to fight shy of 

 climbing the trunk. The spines are specially developed branches. Most of 

 them branch near the base to form a cross which has caused the tree to be called 

 the three-thorned acacia and the acacia of the Passion. 



The first term of the formidable scientific name of this species is in honor 

 of Gottleib Gleditsch, a German botanist; the second from the long three- 

 pronged spines on the trunks and branches. The large broad brown pods 

 which bear the seeds of the tree are conspicuous in late summer and remain 

 on the tree nearly all winter. The delicate, open foliage which gives the tree 

 such a light and graceful aspect, comes out late in the season. It is bright 

 green in the spring, turning to clear yellow shortly before leaf- fall. Fragrant 

 greenish flowers appear in racemes early in summer. 



The honey locust attains a height of fifty to seventy-five feet, and has 

 spreading branches which form a low, spreading, rounded top. Because of 

 its fine foliage the tree does not give as dense a shade as some trees, but in 

 other ways it is very desirable for planting on streets and highways. It grows 

 rapidly on any ordinary good soil, and is one of the few leguminous trees that 

 will stand alkali. It requires very little irrigation and is free from insect at- 

 tacks. Some objection has been found to the tree on account of its sharp 

 thorns which makes pruning difficult. This characteristic, however, has 

 been made use of in forming impassable hedges by planting the trees thickly 

 and pruning them severely. For those who object to the tree because of its 

 thorns a thornless variety has been developed which can be obtained from sev- 

 eral nurseries in the state. 



ASHES 



Around no other tree has there gathered more legend and superstition 

 than around the ash. To the old Northmen it was the tree of trees, the mystic 

 Yggdrasil beneath whose shade the gods sat daily in council. According to 

 the "Edda," their sacred books, an eagle rests on the summit of this mystic 

 tree to observe all that passes in the world, while a squirrel constantly ascends 

 and descends to report those things that the eagle may not have seen. Ser- 



411898 ( 49 ) 



