Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/578

572 LOCUST LODGE kansas ; but it is not indigenous north of Penn- sylvania, nor to be found wild near the sea- coast in the southern states. When growing upon thin soils, it is observed that it greatly improves them if unmolested, probably by the rapidity with which its small leaflets decay and form a natural compost or surface soil, bringing in a grassy sod. The locust planta- tions upon Long Island have been found to materially improve the soil, and at the same time aiford a profitable crop of timber. The tree throws up numerous suckers, especially if the roots are wounded by the plough, and on this account it is objectionable in some situations ; the suckers are sometimes used for making plantations, but the trees are never so shapely as those raised from seeds ; it grows readily from seeds, which may be sown as soon as they are ripe in the fall ; if kept until spring the seeds must be scalded to insure ger- mination. The great enemy to the successful cultivation of the locust is the borer, the larva of clytus robinim, a beautiful gold and black beetle which is found in great abundance on the goldenrods and other flowers in Septem- ber, during their pairing season ; the* female then deposits her eggs upon the bark of the tree, and the young larvse soon make their way to the interior, where from their great num- bers they cause much damage ; the larva per- fects itself in one year. About 20 years ago this insect completely devastated the locusts in some of the western states. The only rem- edy that has been suggested is to plant in large groves, as the insect naturally seeks the trees upon the borders of a plantation. The free and unrestrained growth of the locust tree is very rapid, and its stem increases in magni- tude to such a degree as to make valuable timber. It is not uncommon for young plants to attain a growth of 8 or 10 ft. in a single summer, and one sprout from a young stump of a yellow locust tree grew 16 ft. The wood of the tree is yellowish, but the color varies, and lumbermen distinguish the white, yellow, and black locusts, as the wood is light or dark in color; whether these peculiarities are due to soil, or belong to distinct races or " strains," is not well ascertained; the darkest colored wood is considered the most durable. For certain uses in ship building the wood of the locust is preferable to ^any other timber. Where strength or durability in the material is required, its value is acknowledged. It makes excellent posts for fences and gates, sleepers for foundations, and ties for railroads ; the writer has seen locust fence posts taken up that were known to have been in the ground for 60 years ; they were so sound that they were set again ; and mill cogs and similar articles in constant wear are constructed of it. A tree so beautiful, so rapid in increase, so valuable in economic uses, recommends it- self for artificial cultivation upon acres of land otherwise almost valueless and to be found on every extensive farm. The locust tree was carried to Europe in the time of Henry IV. of France, and was named Robinia in honor of Robin, father and son, who first introduced and cultivated it. The locust has produced some remarkable varieties from the seed, and European catalogues enumerate more than 20 named sorts in which there is some striking departure from the normal form ; one of the finest of these is one named in honor of Prof. Decaisne (R. pseudacacia, var. Decaisneana), which has delicate pink flowers, and blooms almost all the season. A southern species, known as the clammy locust (JR. viscosa), oc- curs upon the mountains of Virginia and southward; it is from 20 to 40 ft. high, the petioles, peduncles, and young wood covered with a viscid pubescence. The flowers are white tinged with pink ; the seed pod is glan- dular-pubescent, three- to four-seeded. This species is cultivated at the north for ornament. One other species (It. Tiispida), called rose acacia and also moss locust, is only a straggling shrub from 3 to 5 ft. high, but its flowers are Moss Locust (Eobinia hispida). very large and of a deep rosy color. The branches, stalks, and pods are bristly. It is frequently cultivated, but as it has a disposi- tion to throw up from its roots numerous suckers, it is much better to graft it into the common locust; and when thus set on a tall young stock of that species, the effect is ex- ceedingly beautiful ; it is also sometimes train- ed to a trellis. (See HONEY LOCUST.) LODEYE, a town of Languedoc, France, in the department of H6rault, at the foot of the Ce"vennes, on the Ergue, 28 m. W. K W. of Montpellier; pop. in 1866, 10,571. The old cathedral church contains a fine mausoleum of white marble. There are important manufac- tories of army clothing and of woollen stuffs. It is the birthplace of Cardinal Fleury. In the middle ages Lodeve was governed by vis- counts, and afterward by sovereign bishops, who had the right of coining money till 1789. LODGE, Thomas, an English author, born in Lincolnshire about 1556, died in London in September, 1625. He was educated at Oxford,