The St. Louis Republic., 1902-11-09
Have All Advantages in Growth
and Good Qualities as
Posts.
ARE PRODUCED FROM SEED.
May Be Planted This Fall on
Waste Land and Will Make
Good Growth Next
Season.

will get more information than he vii
be likely to need. In the West more at
tention has been given to catalpas thai
any other variety of trees, but in th
East and Middle West the black locus
has been the favorite. This preference,
is based on sound reasons. No other tre,
| will do better on waste land than the
locust. None makes more certain ant
| rapid growth. None makes a straighter
smoother or more durable post, ant
none will interfere SO little with the
growth of grass. if it is desired to use
the land as pasture.
| Thomas Alphram Of Wayne County
Indiana, gives in the Ohio Farmer some
experience in locust-growing in his vi
! cinity. Mr.. Alphram says:
High prices of timber have made
\ what to use for fence posts as a sub.
stitute for oak and walnut" a question
| of Importance among farmers of the
| Middle West for several years. No tim.
Der has been found that lasts so well
| as black locust and the ordinary honey
| locust SO generally used fifty years ago
| for ornamenting lawns and streets. The
| fact that locust made good posts was
| well known, but when a supply was
| wanted 1t was learned that there was
none in the market.
The question Of growing locusts for
posts was discussed very thoroughly
years ago, and there was no one who
questioned the utility and lasting quail
ties of the wood, but there appeared to
be no way known In which the trees
could be produced from seed and made
to grow straight, tall and without
branches near the kround Almost ev-
cry locust tree known was sprangly,
forked, bushy and had branches grow
Ing at short intervals almost from the
ground. The only way known to start
the trees was to plant seed in squares
ten feet each way, but it turned out
that not one seed In d dozen ever came
up, and the disappOited farmers tried
setting out shoots that had sprung from
living roots. These were carefully taken
up and transplanted In squares ten feet
each way, but they did not grow right.
They branched out and grew forked
and Dushy. Many years Of valuable
time was wasted because the expert
menterS did not know how to terminate
the locust seeds
As Is well known seeds of the locust
tree have q hard, thick shell, with a
small kernel. II these seeds are planted
without having been previously treated,
not one out Of ten will sprout, and those
that do grow will be 70 late In getting
above the ground that frost will catch
them before they get tough enough to
stand freezing, and the tender shoots
Will be bitten down to the ground. Lo-
Gust seeds must be started artificially.
and the only known method that is al
ways successful was introduced into
Wayne County, Indiana, by Rudolph
Ellenbarger, a native of PENNSYLVANIA,
whose father learned the secret in Ger
many. The seeds must be gathered in
the fall and kept dry throughout the
winter. About the middle Of April the
seeds should be selected. and those ap-
pearing to be good should be placed in
vessel and hot water poured over
them. This water must be boiling hot
and the seeds must be stirred constant
ly while the water remains hot. This
should be done in the morning. Let the
seeds remain in this water over night,
when the water should be poured off |
and boiling water again poured over
hem, the stirring process being repeat !
ID as on the first morning. This should |
be kept up for five or six mornings in |
when the seeds will appear
ready to burst open and perhaps a tiny |
'prout will appear protruding from the |
shell.
After digging a trench in the richest |
part OF the garden, take clean sand and |
place layer in the bottom of the
rench. Then drill the seeds on the sand |
md cover with q shallow covering of |
he same kind Of sand. clear and sharp.
such as pIastererB use. Then ON top Of |
he sand place a shallow layer of dirt.
The shoots will appear early in Nav
IND Will grow large enough the first |
year to Withstand frost. The following
April they should be set. out in rows
.en Ieet apart each way, and the ground |
Kept clean and free from weeds until |
he shoots are well started to growing.
Mr. Ellenbarger,f who introduced this |
method In Eastern Indiana, planted an |
acre and a half of thin, rough ground |
n locusts. The piece Of ground was SO |
disposed that 1t was not at to cultivate.
The trees grew rapidly, and when they |
were 10 years old he sold them for 5000 |
Is they stood.
The trees were taken off close to the
sround, and almost Immediately shoots |
began to appear through the soil from /
me living roots Of the stumps. Mr.. Ell
enoarger took q cutter plow and thor
'ughly tore up the soil between the
'tumps, cutting as many Of the roots
Is possible. This caused the roots to
'end up countless shoots, until the
Iround was fairly thick with them. All
hese shoots were allowed to stand with
nut trimming. Tho second year It was
'een tnat the stronger shoots had
:rowded out the weaker ones. and
analy, within three years, the remain
ng saplings were disposed over the
sround about one to every five feet
'quare. They grew in this way to ma.
ur1ty, OF to q size fit for posts. when
ney were removed and the root-break-
ng process repeated The second crop
vas sold for larger sum than the first.
again the shoots appeared, and again
ne strong smothered out the weak, only
ne nttest surviving, mother nature be
ng allowed to make her own selection.
low many times this process can be
epeated there is no way Of knowing
" any one In this section of the coun-
~. doubtless as often as desired, how
'ver. ~"
Inc tract described is now covered
With growth Of trees, many of which
re ten inches in diameter and tall
nough to make eight or ten cuts seven
eet long Most OF the lower cuts can
y spAt INTO four posts each. The single
Iees VIII yield from twelve to twenty
I'VE posts each, and some even more
nan the last number, These posts sell
or % cents each in country markets
nd doubtless for more In cities or
'laces remote from timber lands.
Just now long locust posts will last