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  • From: EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Osage Orange
  • Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:36:12 -0400

Ok, ok, I think you guys have convinced me. While it had a great purpose years ago when there was nothing else better or more available, today it is just a pita plant. I'm forwarding this on to DH so he can enjoy your comments(esp the chainsaw part)
In the last 24 hours, I have looked at maybe 15 pages online about OO. No where did I see the rennet info, but I believe you on that. Actually, while I saw references to the sap, you are the first to specifically spell out the problems with that, too. This is why I like this list-you guys have information not available anywhere else.

Bev

Clansgian AT wmconnect.com wrote:
Bev,

If you must pick up the apples and plant the seeds therefrom, you might not get a lot of trees. The things get to be a pest on farms whre cows eat the fruit and the seedlings come up from their droppings.

As someone mentioed, OO makes excellent bow staves. This s because, like yew, it has a hard inner wood that springs back from being compressed and an elastic outer wood that springs back from being stretched. So, as with yew, by cutting the stave so that the belly of the bow is from the inner wood and the back is from the outer wood, it acts as if it were laminated. There is a market for suitable straight grained staves in the longbow aficionados.

Also the apples bear a sort of vegetable renet which is why they were propogated so much in days gone by.

They grow pretty quickly. The thorns will penetrate anything.
The wood bears a thick sticky sap that will gum up a chainsaw in two minutes. Even a handsaw must be wiped with solvent periodically. An axe is the only feasible tool to cut them and even then you are going to work hard at it.

If you do try to cut or cut back OO's, dress like a Star Wars storm trooper. No kidding, without rather heavy armor you will be pucntured to death in a short time.

The wood lasts forever. About 1975 I was claaring some area around the dairy spring for my grandmother and struggling mightily in the wet mucky ground to dig out a post that had served as gate post at one time. It was intact to the bottom, you could still see the axe marks on it in detail. My grandmother waxed nostalgic and said, "I remember putting that post in (long story involving all and sundry dramatis personae of the family essued)." "When was this?" "Oh it would have been ... let's see ... 1906."


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