Nebraska advertiser. [volume] (Brownville, Nemaha County, N.T. [Neb.]) 1856-1882, 1858-05-20
Farm and Garden.
~ ~-N~~-0~N-N'
IFrom the Country GentlemanI
Culture Of the Locust.


Culture Of the Locust.
Having noticed from time to time, in
qairies made about the propagation of
the Locust, ! thought perhaps brief ac-
count of some of my experiments might
be of service. am nvw grubbing cut
some FIVE or six acres Of timber which
was planted about twenty-five wears ago..
! then intended as permanent investment.
The variety which is generally grown
on Long Island, has been preferred in
the New York market, 1t is peculiar
for its uniform straightness of trunk, sell
dom having crooked branching heads
One upright leader seems to give a dir
ection to the whole energies Of the tree.
The Black Locust has not been much
known here. | conclude it is the same
variety which | unfortunately stumbled
upon in my experiment. The seed was
procured at Grant Thornburn's store in
New York. Before planting, it was
scalded and then planted in fed with
corn, every fourth hill in every fourth
row being designated for the locust seed.
1t terminated about as soon as the corn,
and with some exceptions pretty uniform;
some of the plants arriving at the height
Of five feet the same season.
The field was continued In cultivation
about four years afterwards. 1t was then
manured moderately for wheat, sown with
timothy and red top grass seed, adding
clover seed in the following spring, and
regularly mown and pastured about four
years longer. Since that time it has been
used as a permanent pasture. For the
last two or three years the common high
bush blackberry has spread out rapidly,
and has now usurped near half the whole
ground For the first ten years, this
field, which originally comprised eight
acres, gave promise of a successful ex-
pertinent. Up to this period the trees
had grown we'll About this time the To-
Gust grubs made their appearance IN ex-
traordinary numbers. and their devaSta-
! tions exceeded anything before known on
: the Island. Many of the finest trees of
large size in this part Of the county, were
entirely killed. My young plantation
came in for large share of damage, and
!
They were sadly scored, and the squalls
at every thunderstorm, snapped them of
AT the grubbed places, leaving many va
cant places in the grove. That portion
which survived, is srill inferior and rough,
having reached various sizes, in value (at
= ordinary prices from three dollars to fifty
cents. Some of the trunks are large
enough to square six inches from ten tc
- fifteen feet They were originally de-
signed to occupy one rod of ground each
This would give. on five acres, eight hun
. dred trees; but the grub and other causes
have combined so effectually TO defeat the
:. experiment that there are only about
three hundred trees on the piece, of any
value.
About the same time, caused some
six to eight thousand young locust trees
!. of the variety commonly grown here, Il
he planted among the timber il the
woods adjoining, and few were planted
IT in the field before mentioned, where tht
seed had failed In all cases these las
have escaped the grubs, at least 50 far a
not TO be seriously injured, although
growing in the same field. The soil OF
which This experiment was made, is /
> light loan, somewhat intermixed witt
small stones.
If the soil be very similar in its mocha
nical structure to ours, should strongl,
recommend the planting from the Lon!
Island variety. Great objections wer,
urged against the other when first intro
duced here, as a timber lacking durability
1t was long before | could satisfy mysel
&c on this point, and had strong inclination
! 10 cut down my trees: but know .believ,
there is little foundation to the objection
, 1t grows somewhat faster than the com
l. mon variety here, but the growth is YER
"a "a considerably expended in large diverg
Of ING branches, which seriously Injuries it
value; and it is much more difficult t
split for ship tunnels, for which there
large demand. 1t may easily be know
from the Long Island locust, by Its dispO
sition to produce seed, the trees as soon a
they acquire a few years growth, bein
covered with seed pods after, the leave
have fallen. X. NJ. Z.