There are but two distinct species of locust which attain the size of trees in this country, viz. the Yellow locust (R. pseud-acacia), so called from the color of its wood; and the Honey locust (R. viscosa), a smaller tree, with reddish flowers, and branches covered with a viscid honey-like gum. Some pretty varieties of the former have been originated in gardens abroad, among which the Parasol locust (Var. umbraculifera) is decidedly the most interesting. We recollect some handsome specimens which were imported by the late M. Parmentier, and grew in his garden at Brooklyn, Long Island. They were remarkable for their unique, rounded, umbrella-like heads, when grafted ten or twelve feet high on the common locust.
There are two pretty distinct varieties of the common Yellow locust, cultivated on the Hudson. That most frequently seen is the White variety, which forms a tall and narrow head; the other is the Black locust, with a broad and more spreading head, and larger trunk; the latter may be seen in fine condition at Clermont. It is a much finer ornamental tree, and appears less liable to the borer than the White variety.
