On “ The Point ”—Second Excursion 
With a pinnate leaf of larger leaflets than in the fore- 
going, the common locust mingles most gracefully with 
such simple-leaved trees as the linden, catalpa, and ma- 
ple. But its finest feature is its long pendent racemes 
of fragrant white blossoms, filling the air with delicious 
perfume. A large cluster can be seen on ‘‘ The Point,”’ 
which well rewards a visit in blossoming time, the last 
of May. Odor is the vaguest charm in the world of 
sense, a sort of spiritual presence, on the very confines 
of matter, sometimes as subtle as a blush, and evanes- 
cent asasmile. But, vague as it is, no other sensations 
are so indelible in the memory, inseparably blending 
with experience sweet and bitter, so that the most casual 
whiff invokes a vision of events in years long fled. 
A cluster of much larger locusts will be found at the 
extreme northwest end of the Park. ‘This species has 
bark that is rough and much lighter colored than the 
preceding. The bark is prickly, especially on the 
younger growth, but in the honey-locust it is thorny ; 
the difference is radical. Prickles, however large, are 
an outgrowth of the bark; peel off the bark and the 
prickles go with it; thorns or spines are metamorphosed 
branches, and proceed from the wood beneath the bark, 
and are rigidly attached. ‘The pods of the common 
locust also hang all winter, but are neither so long nor 
black, as in the honey-locust. 
‘‘ All good things go in threes,’’ says the proverb, 
and the author may have had locusts in mind when he 
said it: for quite as ornamental in its way is the third 
member of the trio, the clammy locust (Robinia viscosa), 
which is one of the unfortunate omissions of the Park 
8I 
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