PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS' CLUB. 129 



Mr. Solon Robinson. — Gather the currants and pick out leaves, twigs 

 and dirt, and mash them, and squeeze out the juice and strain it, and add 

 a pound of double refined sugar to each pint, and scald it until it makes a 

 jelly, trying it frequently by taking out and cooling a little on a plate, 

 and when it appears to form a jelly readily, cool it partially and take it 

 out into jelly glasses, tumblers or jars, and cover it to keep out flies, and 

 set it in the sun until it is sufficiently hard, and then seal up with white 

 paper, coated with white of egg, pressed over the mouth of the glass. 



"Fruits in their Season" will be the subject for discussion at the next 

 meeting. 



Adjourned ' , JOHN W. CHAMBERS, Secretary. 



July 29, 1862. 

 Bev. James K. Campbell, of New York, in the chair. 



How TO Grow Locust Seed. 



Mr. T. B. Thompson, of Millertown, Penn., wants to know how to grow 

 locust seed, and how to tell the white and yellow locust apart. 



Mr. Wm. R. Prince. — There is no such distinction as yellow and white 

 locust, unless he means the honey locust for one. That which grows uni- 

 versally through this country, and is so valuable for timber, is the Rohiyiia 

 Acacia, the seed of which is encased in such a hard shell that it needs 

 soaking in hot water. It may stand all night, and then a portion of the 

 seeds will be swelled, and should be picked out and hot water poured over 

 again and again. I have known it to require thirteen scaldings before all 

 the seeds were swollen. 



Mr. Solon Robinson. — I have used boiling-hot ley, poured upon a pint of 

 seed so as to cover it, and left to stand till cool and then planted, and 

 nearly all grew at once. I planted in autumn, and the plants came up the 

 next spring and were tended like any other nursery plants. The best 

 locust timber in the world is grown upon Long Island, and is shipped from 

 there to France for tree nails in ship building. The wood of this locust is 

 yellow; that of honey locust is white and not valuable for timber. 



Mr. John G. Bergen. — I suppose that the value of Long Island locust 

 timber arises from its slow growth. It appears to grow almost sponta- 

 neously, and the more open the trees stand the better the timber. These 

 trees are unlike almost all others, in this: they do not injure any other 

 crop; grass is rather better in their shade than anywhere else. The great 

 trouble about growing locust timber is the borers, which of late years 

 have destroyed many trees. 



Mr. Wm. R. Prince. — The best locust timber is grown upon the northern 

 side of the island, where the soil is clayey. Cobbett, when he lived on the 

 island, got up quite a furor in England for growing this tree. I sent four 

 barrels of seed upon one order. I procured it from Indiana, where the tree 

 grows much more rapidly than here, and bears seed when small. The seed 

 was sold there at five dollars per pound, 



'"Am. Inst.1 9 



