12 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
We are not quite sure what you mean by the wild cherry. 
We have several wild cherries in the country, the black wild, 
Prunus cerotina, the choke cherry, Prunus Virginiana, and 
the bird cherry, Prunus Pennsylvanicum. The first two 
mentioned are quite’unsuitable for stocks. They represent 
widely diverging strains. The frqit is borne in a raceme 
instead of a cyme or cluster, as in the case of the cultivated 
cherry. The last species mentioned, the bird cherry, has 
been used as a stock for both sweet and sour cherries with 
some degrees of success. We have experimented with this 
ourselves, and apart from some practical difficulties in budd¬ 
ing, we can say the stock works fairly well with sour as well 
as sweet cherries. Its principal value lies in its hardiness, 
and freedom from root killing when cherries are grown in 
cold localities. The stock in nursery row grows with great 
rapidity and must be budded quite late in the season. Other¬ 
wise, the rush of sap is so great that the buds are thrown out, 
and trees often become bound by the tie string to such an 
extent that they easily break off under the stress of wind. 
This stock has been used to some small extent in Nova 
Scotia, the Province of Quebec, and possibly in the North¬ 
west states. 
DESCRIPTIVE POMOLOGY 
Please name the best books on describing fruits. 
A. F., New York. 
There are several works available at the present time to 
the person who desires to study varieties of fruits. If he 
is interested in apples, the best work, as well as the most 
recent is “The Apples of New York,’’ in two volumes. 
While this has a local title, it covers the whole field, and 
includes practically all the apples grown in the United 
States. The descriptions are accurate, the half tones and 
the colored plates are also dependable. This work in two 
^"olumes was published by the New York Experiment 
Station at Geneva under state appropriation some four 
years ago, and was primarily intended for distribution among 
New York State fruit growers. A number of copies, how¬ 
ever, got into the hands of book jobbers, and are now found 
on the shelves of second hand book dealers. The regular 
supply apportioned to the Experiment Station and the 
Department of Agriciilture has long since been exhausted. 
Among the older books and among the best, as well, is 
“American Pomology,’’ by Warder. This work, by the late 
eminent John A. Warder of Ohio, is long since out of print, 
but copies may be picked up now and then in second hand 
book stores. It is a valuable work, but, of course, not 
strictly up-to-date. One other book which should be 
mentioned is Thomas’s “Fruit Culturist.’’ This covers the 
whole range of fruit growing, and includes, in addition to 
the description of varieties, cultural directions. A recent 
edition of this work has been published by H. S. Wood 
Company of New York. We should not overlook Downing’s 
“Fruits and Fruit Trees of America,’’ which, like Warder’s 
is considerably out of date, but nevertheless, is a valuable 
work, if one can afford it. The last two books can be 
secured through second hand book dealers. One of the best 
of these is G, C. Stechert, New York City. 
It is worth while to mention also that the catalogue of 
the American Pomological Society gives brief descriptions 
of all the leading varieties of fruits, with notes on their 
adaptation to particular parts of the country. This is 
available to all members of the Society. 
YELLOW LOCUST FROM SEED 
Is there profit in growing locust from seed?" Describe 
the method of starting a plantation. 
J.H.,Pa. 
A good deal of interest has manifested itself recently in 
the growing of locust and catalpa on the so-called waste or 
rougher lands of New York and New England. There is 
some confusion in the public mind as to what is meant by 
the common name locust. Some people think of the honey 
locust, the three-thomed locust, and others have in mind 
the yellow or black locust found so frequently about old 
farmsteads in New England and Eastern New York. The 
honey locust is essentially a park or ornamental tree. It has 
no special value from the timber standpoint. The black 
locust, sometimes called yellow locust, on the other hand, 
quite an upright growing tree, very much less thorny and 
with much smaller pods than the honey locust, is especially 
valuable on account of the durability of its wood. As 
fencepost or tie timber, it is greatly prized. The cultivation 
of the black locust, Rohinia pseudacacia (false acacia), 
has been attempted in many places with varying success. 
The arch-enemy of this tree is a stem borer which attacks 
the yoimg trees in the plantation, and either destroys them 
entire or causes such malformation of growth as to unfit 
them for timber purposes. The tree is rapid growing and 
tenacious of life. It is a question whether the borer can be 
satisfactorily combatted. 
The question is often asked whether it is best to sow the 
seed of this locust directly on the ground where the trees 
are to grow, or whether the seedlings should be grown in 
nursery row and then transplanted. As a rule, the latter 
procedure is much wiser. Locust seed germinates irregularly 
and somewhat slowly. To obviate this, the seed may be 
scalded, or it may be soaked in warm water for two or three 
days. The scalding or soaking softens the outer coat, so 
that the seed will take up the soil moisture and germinate 
with reasonable regularity. The seed may be sown in 
drills far enough apart for horse cultivation, when the 
ground is warm in the spring. It should not be put into 
cold soil, especially after soaking; for under these condi¬ 
tions it is likely to rot. A covering of one to two inches is 
sufficient. If the soil is of good mellow texture and reason¬ 
ably fertile, a growth of from 12 to 18 inches may be ex¬ 
pected the first year. These seedlings may be transplanted 
to the field the following spring. If the ground is rough 
and impossible of culture, then some care must be given to 
the young plants to prevent them from being smothered by 
contending'weeds. In order to secirre a good ground cover, 
which will suppress weeds in as short a time as possible, and 
also for the purpose of stimulating straight stem growth,, 
the trees should be set as near^^as four feet. In forestjplanta- 
tions where they are cultivated regularly for the first two or 
