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  • From: "Dylan Ford" <dford@suffolk.lib.ny.us>
  • To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] black locust
  • Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 08:08:56 -0500

Rick Valley-
I heard long ago that honeybees and earthworms are alien to
North America, imported by European colonists, and as such are harmful
elements in our ecosystems, but I have never really understood the case
against them. Can you (or other Nafexers) spell out the harm they do,
especially the earthworms?
It's a little more obvious with the honeybees in terms of
competition for resources, but I must admit that I can't figure out on my
own how earthworms are, as you put it, "destroying our ecology from the
ground up".
Now slugs, on the other hand...

dylan ford

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rick Valley" <bamboogrove@cmug.com>
To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2003 1:22 AM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] black locust


> Here in Oregon, Black Locust is not native. Yet although the tree grows
well
> here, it is not a big problem as far as being invasive. Deer will eagerly
> consume what they can reach. As far as I have seen, it does not eliminate
> other vegetation.
> And, thank the lord, it does not invade wet prairies like Pear does here,
or
> hybridize with native species, polluting the gene pool, as Apple does
here.
> (Should cut 'em all down and burn 'em!) Too bad though, that it feeds
those
> wretched, nectar usurping non-native honeybees, which are nothing but the
> invertebrate shock troops of biological imperialism. Them and the
> earthworms, which are destroying our ecology from the ground up.
> It is the only rot-resistant wood that is feasible to grow here to harvest
> size in your lifetime. I have successfully used it in agroforestry systems
> for years now. Properly seasoned, the wood is in demand for boat building
> and furniture (indoor and out) The wood is not difficult to work green,
and
> as a beam, it's about the strongest you can get in N. Am. There was a
group
> in NY state promoting Black Locust forestry, which put out 1 issue of a
> "Black Locust Journal" but I don't know what happende to them. I recommend
> *Black Locust: Biology Culture and Utilization* (Proceedings of the Intn'l
> Conf.) '91, MSU, East Lansing, Mich. There's a New Mexico Locust too,
which
> has at least one local population of good timber form. As far as
fenceposts,
> it far outlasts oak.
>
> >> BUT -- plant them where you can mow around the area. They will sucker
> >> from the roots and are very invasive. And, the posts are hard to drive
> >> staples into; I expect it would be hard to drive nails into black
> >> locust lumber.
> You can drill and screw it just fine; I get staples into it OK, and
> sometimes I drill and drive nails through and clench them- works great. I
> only get suckers after felling a tree, or after cutting a root (which I
> sometimes do purposefully to spread a grove)
>
> -Rick in Benton Co. OR
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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