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597 



Honey l^ocusl.— We have just re- 

 ceived from Mr. Norman J. Coleman, Com- 

 missioner ot Ai^riculture, the " Annual 

 Report of Forestry for 188T," issued by the 

 Department at Washington. It contains 

 many things ot interest concerninj; the for- 

 est trees, etc., of America. Concerning the 

 Honey Locust it gives these interesting 

 particulars and description : 



DMributirm.—FTom the Brazos River, 

 eastern Texas, northward to eastern Ne- 

 braslsa and eastward tliroughout the entire 

 region to the Atlantic, but in the latter 

 States chietly introduced. It is mostly asso- 

 ciated withotliertrees, elm, walnut, hickory, 

 and ash, though sometimes becoming the 

 predominant species, and in a few cases, in 

 small areas, excludini» all other species. 

 Outside of its natural range it has been 

 quite generally cultivated as a shade and 

 ornamental tree, and in a few ot the West- 

 ern States successfully grown in forest 

 plantations. It is well fitted to replace the 

 Black Locust in the southern half of the 

 United States, where it can undoubtedly be 

 more successfully grown as a forest tree. 



In 1700 it was introduced into England, 

 but cultivated only as an ornamental tree, 

 and somewhat unsuccessfully as a hedge- 

 plant, as it was also upon the Continent. 

 Subsequently it became known in south- 

 western Europe, especially in France, Aus- 

 tria, and Italy, where fertile seeds are easily 

 matured. 



Growth.— The Honey Locust grows rap- 

 idly duiinR its early lite in favorable situ- 

 ations, making from 3 to 3 feet annually in 

 height growth, and nearly three-fourths of 

 an inch in diameter for the first ten years. 

 Although not as extensively tried as a forest 

 tree as the Black Locust, yet so far as known 

 it is generally tar less liable to the attacks 

 of insects than the latter. Commonly about 

 50 to sometimes 90 feet in height and I'.f to 

 3 feet in diameter. Grown in thi^ open it 

 usually produces a short trunk and a broad, 

 much-branched crown, while closely grown 

 with other heavy-foliageil companions it 

 develops a taller trunk and smaller crown. 



Soil and Site— The Honey Locust is 

 found growing almost entirely in low, rich 

 bottom-lands and in slieltered valleys, where 

 the soil is deep and loose, rarely of its own 

 accord taking to the poorer and drier up- 

 lands. In such favorable locations it pro- 

 duces its finest timber value. The moder- 

 ately rich, but loose, sandy, or gravelly 

 soils of highlands and slopes produce desir- 

 able timber, though not as quickly as the 

 lower and richer soils. The growth in stitf 

 damp soils is apparently a healthy one, but 

 slow and undesirable for timber ; it will 

 not endure an undrained soil. 



Propdgation. — It does not sprout from 

 the stump nor grow from cuttings, and is 

 therefore propagated entirely from the seed, 

 which will sometimes retain their vitality 

 for three years, even out of the pods. The 

 fresh seed procured in the fall grow most 

 readily if planted immediately, but if kept 

 dry for a season or more and then planted 

 they germinate very slowly, f>ften not at all, 

 or '■ lie over." The young plants of the first 

 year are not quite as hardy as those of the 

 Black Locust ot the same age, but are equal 

 to them in this respect at any time alter- 

 wards. They can be transplanted to their 

 permanent sites when one year old and will 

 bear the transplanting well, but are on the 

 ■whole, perhaps, best kept in the nursery 

 rows till the fall or spring following the 

 second year. 



QiiaJity of Wood and Economic Uses.— 

 The wood is heavy, hard, strong, and dura- 

 ble in contact with the soil or wln-n exposed 

 to the weather (equal to that of Red Mul- 

 berry). It splits somewhat more readily 

 than that of the Black Locust, and the grain 

 is considerably coarser as well as being 

 more porous. It seems not to have attracted 



much attention for its economic value, but 

 where available is employed considerably 

 for fence posts, rails, in turnery for heavy 

 spoke-timber, and is much esteemed for 

 fuel. It is adapted to other purposes in 

 construction, and will undoubtedly come 

 into more general use in the absence of 

 other heavy-wooded but much slower-grow- 

 ing kinds. 



The Honey Locust Tree. 



Descriptive Characters. — Ijeaves com- 

 pound, composed of small, lance-shaped, 

 oblong leaflets. Pods large, flat, shiny 

 brown, 9 to sometimes 18 inches long and 

 about l}i' inches broad, with a sweetish 

 hard pulp between the seeds— often eaten 

 by children. Armed with clusters of long 

 keen spines, generally three together, a 

 central or main one with smaller lateral 

 ones ; often attached to the trunks of young 

 trees, but absent from older stems. The 



Honey Locust Limb, Seed and Pod. 



bark of young trees ften to fifteen years) is 

 mostly smooth and unbroken ; but very old 

 trees have rough and much furrowed bark, 

 rendering the tree quite a different one in 

 appearance. Varieties of this species are 

 without thorns, or sometimes with small 

 thorns. 



The locusts are excellent honey-producers 

 and should not be overlooked in the selection 

 of shade trees. Although the duration of 

 bloom is but limited, they yield a bountiful 



supply ot rich nectar, and bees will literally 

 swarm among the highly-perfumed blos- 

 soms. Mr. G. W. Demaree, of Kentucky, 

 writes as follows regarding. the locust : 



" The time of year in which it blooms 

 nearly filling the interval between the late 

 fruit Bloom and the white clover, makes, it 

 an exceedingly valuable auxiliary to the 

 honey harvest in the middle states, if not 

 elsewhere. It is a most profuse honey 

 bearer, rivalling the famous linden in 

 quality, and only inferior to the product of 

 the latter in color. Locust honey cannot be 

 said to be dark in color. It is ot a rich pale- 

 red color, when in a liquid state ; but when 

 in the shape of comb honey, its appearance, 

 If removed from the hive when first finished, 

 is but little inferior to our superior clover 

 honey. It becomes exceedingly thick, if 

 left with the bees till the cells are thor- 

 oughly sealed, and its keeping qualities are 

 therefore most excellent. The trees are 

 planted by the side of fences, in waste 

 places, and on poor, worn-out lands. They 

 may be propagated from the seeds, or by 

 transplanting the young trees from one to 

 three years old. If the ground is plowed in 

 tiie spring, and the locust seeds planted on 

 the hills with corn, or with other hill crops, 

 and cultivated the fiist year, the young trees 

 will grow with great rapidity, even on very 

 poor lands. In this way beautiful groves 

 can be started, making the land, in process 

 of time, very valuable, in locations where 

 timber is an object, besides giving a perfect 

 sea of bloom, ladened with precious nectar." 



Tlie Honey Crop is very small this 

 season, especially the white honey. More 

 honey is now being gathered than at any 

 time before, this year. Mr. Geo. H. Knicker- 

 bocker of Pine Plains, N.Y., remarks thus : 



With these conditions a good quality of 

 honey must, ot necessity, bring a good 

 price, unless the market is demoralized. 1 

 already hear of some who live in favored 

 localities, and have a fair crop of honey, 

 who are making the mistake so common 

 among bee-keepers, viz : being in such a 

 hurry to dispose of their honey as soon as 

 gathered (before someone else can get theirs 

 ready for market), they offer nice comb 

 honey for 10 or 12 ets. per pound, and by so 

 doing help to establish a low price, even 

 when honey is a short crop and should bring 

 a good price, in order to fairly remunerate 

 the producer for his labor and investment. 



The foolishness of such proceedings can- 

 not be too severely condemned. If honey 

 does not bring an extra good price this year, 

 it is the fault of the producers themselves. 

 Even those who may have some of last 

 years' crop of comb honey are tn be congrat- 

 ulated, for it will also find a market at good 

 prices. 



fVe Have some copies of the old edition 

 of Cook's Manual left, which we will sell at 

 the old price, Sl.'i"). The price of the new 

 edition is SI. 50 per copy ; a notice of which 

 may be found on page .579. 



We 'Want 20,000 subscribers. Out of 

 the 300,000 bee keepers in America, certainly 

 this is not an extravagant desire ! It is 

 only one out of every fifteen ! We confi- 

 dently ask those who appreciate the Ameri- 

 can Bek .JornsAi., to show it by sending 

 us one or more new subscribers. We will 

 give them full value for their money. 



