310 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF NEW JERSEY. 
which interfered with the work of reforestation. Wessely con- 
cludes by saying that little had been accomplished because of a 
lack of knowledge of sand culture and a lack of courageous and 
unselfish devotion to such work in spite of. opposition and diffi- 
culties.* 
This book appeared in 1873. Since that time there has been 
great progress. ‘The work in this peculiar and secluded region 
is of great interest to Americans because it was accomplished 
under great difficulties, and because it was our own locust tree 
which was most successfully and extensively planted. In his 
book Wessely mentions that the Canadian poplar and the locust 
seemed at that time to be the most promising trees for the 
region, and that the Hungarian foresters often remarked that 
“Die Akazie sei in Nord-Amerika fiir die Ungarische Ebene 
eigens erfunden worden.” + 
There has recently appeared an article on the locust by the 
Hungarian Forester Bund in the Zeztschrift fiir Forst und 
Jagdwesen. 'The successful use of the locust on sandy land in 
the Rhine Province led him to inquire into the experiences with 
this tree in the Hungarian desert. This tree was at first only 
used in gardens and along avenues, but soon its good qualities 
were recognized as a supremely useful cover for sand surfaces. 
It is to-day principally the locust which relieves the monotony 
of the Hungarian steppes. In all there are at least 70,000 hec- 
tares or about 172,970 acres of pure locust stands in that country. 
It is, in his opinion, the tree of the future for desert sandy 
regions. The government is encouraging the planting of this 
tree by furnishing gratis every year from the State nurseries 
from five to six million young locust plants. 
The chief claims for the use of the tree in Hungary are that 
its demands on the soil are slight, that it is easily propagated, 
and that owing to its extensive root-system and root-suckers it 
holds the soil in place. He recommends that the soil should be 
worked first, on which a crop of rye or legumes may be grown, 
and cautions one not to sow seeds which have been scalded or 
*It is worthy of note how that in great reforms much has been accomplished by one or only a very 
few persistent, enthusiastic workers. 
t‘‘The locust has been discovered in America especially for the Hungarian Plain’’ The term 
“acacia”’ is used throughout Europe for the locust tree; in fact, in America, it is called “‘ false acacia,”’ 
from which comes its specific name ‘‘ pseudacacia.’’ 
