Sf7 ■gcu J HE VALUE OF bis cl 9 Arc TMirxtoer BY y REV. J. M. G8GHRAH. Copyrighted by J. M. COCHRAN, 1896. Baptist Trumpet Print, bonham, texas. \ 0000flfl50UA Preface. Wherever Bois d' Are timber will grow the following pages will show the possibility of settling the question of good public highways. Let every country where this valuable tim- ber can be produced enter upon the work of growing it in place of inferior varieties, and a system of the finest public highways the world ever saw will be produced at the smallest possible cost, and a large number of other important results will be accomplished. In this timber the people of North Texas have had a treasure whose real value is a hundred, or a thousand fold greater than they have estimated, and the de- sign of the following pages is to call attention to this neglect- ed native product. For a number of years past the subject of public highways has attracted mucli attention, and a vast amount of literature uas been published, societies have been organized, and official bodies have employed their utmost en- ergies, and the outcome of it all has been very little, and very indefinite. Let them take up the following facts about, prob- ably, the most valuable timber on earth, act upon them, and their object of securing good public highways will be accom- plished beyond their fondest dream. AUTHOR. ► B0D0GK. Bois d' Arc, Osage Orange. These are the two name*) public print gives to what [ regard as the most valuable tim- ber on the face of the earth. The Red River valley of North Texas is its native home, and the people call it Bodock. Bois d' Arc is the name given to ii by a foreign language, and public print is the only thing that perpetuates the foreign word. The people where the timber grows in all its spontane- ous and native vigor have a right to name it, and no other people have a right to dictate to them any other name or pro- nunciaiion than what they have given it, which is Bodock. Osage Orange has no right to uupplant the name Bodock, for it is used only in the old states, where they know almost noth- ing abonr it, while Bois d' Arc has no right to dictate the English phonetic spelling and pronunciation, which is Bodock. in this article I do not propose to comply with foreign customs, but to follow the order of right, and call the timber what it is called where it grows, and where no other name is known than Bodock, with its English phonetic pronunciation. Few people appreciate tiie value of a durable timber. One that will last, is what men want. Timber is used in all countries. It makes no differance how savage a tribe may be they use limber, and in civilized countries it is used for so many purposes that it ts at once one of the leading necessities of the human race. BUDOCK. This country is rapidly settling, and our timber forests are melting away, almost like snow before a summer's sun. Timber of all kinds is now cheap, but the day is coming when it must advance, and it jS probably in the near future. The time is coming when houses will not be built out ol pine lum- ber, and it is also near when houses now made of pine lumber will beuufit for use, for such bouses do not last long. Where I have lived for sixteen years Bodock grows spon- taneously all over the country, and 1 have been a close student ofits habits, and of all the features ihat make up its general character. Tbe result of all this observation and experience is that 1 am convinced thai even t lie people where it grows do not appreciate one tenth part of its real, substantial value, and it has been fearfully wasted. I know one flour mill that has burnt it to a large extent fOr cord wood for perhaps twenty years, and J never passed the mill and saw it piled up for cord wood when 1 did not fee! a sense of humiliation at seeing such a waste in a country where 1 lived. I have seen farmers cut it down and burn it just to get it out of (he way. It is useless to belt large trees, and expect them to rot and fall like other timber, for they wiii not do it. The possibilities are that when a large dead Bodock is left in a field, at the end of a century the old giant would still be bidding defiance to the ravages of time, and to the inroads of water and decay. There is only a limited quantity of it in the country, and its merits are being more and more recognized every year. The use of it on rail- roads is rapidly increasing, and it is being cut and shipped out of the country for various purposes; so the North Texas sup- ply, which is, as far as I kuow, the only supply in the world, will soon be exhausted. This being the case, the present ar- ticle js for the purpose of calling public attention to its value, and to encourage the planting arid cultivation of the Bodock wherever this pamphlet may go. J 1 is a southern growth, for it will not stand the heavy freezes of cold climates. The south may. therefore, be proud of her inheritance of probably the most valuable timber on the face oi the earth. Let her only improve her inheritance and BODOCK. privileges as it should be done, and it will be worth untold wealth to her; not only iti its use, but in shipping it. to cold countries. How far north it will grow 1 do not know. I once saw a hedge of it in the state of Delaware, twenty miles south of Philadelphia, but it appeared to have a feeble growth, and did not show the luxuriant vitality that it does in its native Texas soil and climate; however, its feeble growth might have been caused by close trimming which it does not often get in Texas hedges. Cedar lias been, in all ages, accepted as, probably, the most durable timber in existence, but there were large cedar trees growing on my father's farm in Alabama, and I am well acquainted with it. 1 was raided in a cedar country, and have lived sixreen years in a Bodock country, so 1 ought to be pre- pared to judge of the relative durability of each limber. My father generally made all his gate and bar posts out of cedar, and from seven to ten years was as long as they would last. Tney would rot off at the edge of the ground within that lime. In 1868, or about thai time, I saw a plank fence put up by Dr. L. D. Lusk, in the edge of Guniersville, Ala., the county seal of Marshall county. He bought cedar posis at 25c apiece, and put up a plauk or board fence about a quarter of a mile long. at the end of about seven years the posts were rotting off, and the fence falling down. 1 was a personal witness of this fact, and give it from personal knowledge, so there is no chance for a mistake. From what 1 have learned I think that where it grows in a dry climate like Middle or Western Texas, if may be more durable, and last much longer than it does in Ala bama, and the same may be true when it grows in cold climates, but it possesses only a small fraction of the ability to resist rot under ground that is shown by our noble Bodock. "Twenty years longer than rock." That is the length of time that it is said Bodock will last. Five dollars for a rotten piece of Bodock. This has been offered by, probably, hun- dreds of men in North Texaw, and ! never knew one of them to pay it, for 1 never knew the rotten Bodock to be furnished. It is said that a. few years ago a St. Louis agent came to Bonhatn BODOCK. 5 to investigate the rot resisting power of Bodock. A post that was known to have been set about fifty years ago was taken up and examined, and not a sign of rot did it show. I heard this report, but know nothing of its truthfulness. In 1889, the county court house was torn down, and a fine building was elected in its place. J was told that in excavating a foundation isoine Bodock was found that was put there when the obi house was built, about fifty years ago, and that it showed no signs of decay. In North Texas, there are many wire fences that were put up twenty years ago with Bodoek posts, but the owners never tliink about examining to see how they are getting along. If a Bodock stake can be found if will always be driven to mark a land corner, and when it is put up no one thinks of such a thing as it rotting off*. When the foundation of a wooden house is laid Bodock blocks are used, and where it grows, it would, probably, be difficult to find a house with auy other than Bodock pillows. These are the purposes for which it is used on farms, and it would be employed in many other ways if it were not for two or three defects. One is that it grows very crooked, and the other in that it is generally scrubby and knotty. Another objection is thai it splits so easily that nails canuot be driven in it, and still another objection is that it is so hard that, when it gets dry it is almost impossible for a nail to penetrate it. 1 think that the first two objections are caused from the biting and cropping oi cattle. All kinds of stock eagerly relish the leaves and twigs, and their continuaj cropping of it while it is small causes it to grow knotty and crooked, for it should be re- membered that this is a new country, and all (he large Bo- dock it contains grew up before the land was fenced, and while cattle had free access to it. As to its hard, and splitting qual- ities they could be overcome to some extent by steaming be- fore nails are driven. As to the crooked, knotty and scrubby growth, I am confident that these objections could be over- come entirely by thick planiiug, and keepiug stock off until the limbsare out of their reach. But even then, in winter, BODOCK. mules will hark every small tret' they can find. I have seen many Bodocks growing among timber that stood thick, and'it was us straight, and t>s free from knots as other timber. When it is seasoned Bodock is the heaviest timber I ever saw, but, although it is so hard and heavy, still it chops easi- ly. 1 f is nearly as easy to chop when it is seasoned as it is green. I attribute this to the fact that when it splits so easi- ly, when chopping the chips do not hang as in other timber. It is so hard that when an ax enters it there is danger of a broken tool in the near future. Jn choppiugit, I have broken a number of valuable axes. However axes are generally bro- ken by chopping in knotty places. Some men will not allow any one to use their axes in Bodock, and if is the same way with saws. It has a thin white sap, and a deep yellow heart. The sap is exceptionally thin. There are many other puposes for which it would answer if it would .row straight and free from knots, and, as already stated, thick planting would probably effect this object. Pole or rail fences could be built, out of it. Cribs, stables and barns could be built out of it that would last a life lime, or longer, while log dwellings could also be built. If it would grow'straight, and free from knots, it could be used for roof- ing material, and a roof of it would be as durable as slate. Before barbed wire was invented Bodock hedges were ex- tensively planted on the prairies, but now farmers do not like them. It grows too fast, and too large, and it is almost im- possible to control it. These are qualities Ihat do not suit a hedge plant; out 1 think, and always have thought that by punctual trimming in summer when the young shoots are ten- der, and doing it often, would control the vigerous growth. There is a tree growing near Gobei, that I never saw anywhere else, that would make a finer hedge plant than Bo- dock. The people call it pepper wood, and I never saw it anywhere than on my farm, and close to it. Jt has short, sharp thorns, and is very bresh and easily broken. Hedges could be pruued with a stick by breaking off the limbs, but Bodock is so tough that it is difficult to trim even with a I BO DOCK. t sharp instrument. The pepper wood tree never grows large. One loot in diameter is about as large as I ever saw. The thorns are short, and thicker than they are on Bodock, and a tree as large as a peach tree will hear a profusion of small berries, which answer for seed. Tliis is a digression from the Bodock subject, but 1 am convinced it would make one of the finest hedge plants ever introduced, and 1 wished to call attention to it in connection wuh Bodock hedges. Before barbed wire fences were introduced into this country, a great many picket fences were made. They were made out of pickets just large enough to keep hogs from bend- ing them, and out of Bodock timber. They were generally cut five and one half feet long and set in ditches sixteen inches deep, but they never have given satisfaction. Wherever there is a crooked one cattle or hogs can crowd through them. Pickets four and one half feet long with one barbed wire above is the best. The pickets are held together at the top by i wo small wires which are crossed between the pickets, back and forward. Bodock could be used, also, in tile drainage, and by skill- ful preparation, Bodock lumber might possibly be used for city water pipes. If it could be made to grow tall and straight it could also be used for lumber. Theue are about, the sum of farm uses that it would an- swer, with the exception of food for silk worms. It is said that for this purpose it nearly equals the mulberry. If it could be made to grow straight, it would surpass anything that railroads could get. They use a vast amount of timber, and for bridges, trestles and ties it would be nearly equal to iron. It splits so badly that railroads will not have it for ties, but surely some one could invent a method to over- come i his difficulty. Iron cross ties are used, and if the rails can be fastened to them some one could certainly effect the same thing with Bodock ties. I never saw anything used for telegraph poles but cedar, and 1 have often wondered where they got so much of it. Bodock would be equally a« superior for this purpose as it 8 BODOCK. would be for fence posts, if it could be made to grow straight. I have little idea bow long a large Bodock telegraph pole would last, but I would not put it under t wo hundred years. Bodock has one characteristic that, I never saw in auy other timber. As far as it has been tested it has proved its ability to withstand rot and decay as well, or better, under ground than above ground. This is a quality that places it far in advance of any timber on earth, for I have never heard or read of any other wood on earth that possessed this quali- ty. Chestnut, is very durable above ground, but it rots quick- ly under ground, and it is the same way with many other tim- bers. Then wood lice will eat up chestnut, and other soft woods underground, but Bodock is so hard that they will not touch it. Here in Texas worms destroy timber soon after it is cut, at a fearful rate, and they will work under the bark of Bodock and a little on the sap, but 1 never knew one to pene- trate the yellow heart. it is said that it makes the- finest street pavement in the world, and some Texas cities are reaping the benefit of this quality. Last August I was in Paris, thirty-eight miles east of Bonhani, and carefully examined the pavement. 1 saw no reason why its superior claim to this distinction should lie disputed, for it showed qualities which stone does not posses. For paving it is sawed into blocks about six inches long, and these blocks are then set on end, and as close together as pos- sible. All limbs and sticks two inches in diameter are used, and ine large and small pieces are mixed indiscrimidately to- gether. I saw no large blocks, for i think that about eight or ten inches in diameter was the largest and about two inches the smallest. Round pieces are used, and no effort is made to square and fit, them close together. If it makes such fine pavement for city streets, why should not all public roads be also paved with if? I see no reason why it could not be done if the supply of timber was at hand. If it makes the finest pavement in the world, why should not all the public highways of the world be paved with it as soon as possible? Why should not every city corpora- BODOCK. 9 tion in the world plant a forest large enough to pave its streets? Why should not the legal authority in charge of every public road in the world plant enough of Bodock, close to its road, to pave it? The timber for these purposes could be grown within tweuty or thirty years. If rock could be planted and made to grow where it is wanted, there would be millions of rock farms planted all over the world, in a short time, yet here is a timber said to be superior to rock for pav- ing, and many other purposes, and a few hedge rows is all that has been planted. Why does not private enterprise enter upon this work, and make the best investment that could probably be made? An acre well set in Bodock, when well matured, would be one of the most valuable pieces of property that could be found. Why not plant millions of acres close to the rivers where it could be transported cheaply to distant localities? Why not plant millions of acres near the sea coast where it could be shipped to our northern cities, and to all ports of the world, and supply those countries with it where it will not grow? Why should not every farmer raise enough of it to make all his fences, cribs, stables, barns and other necessary houses, and even build his dwelling houses out of it? It makes finer char coal than any known timber. Black- smiths have told me they would rather have it than stone coal. It grows easily and rapidly, and makes fine fire wood. Why not plant all the forests in the Southern states principally in Bodock, and when it grows up cut out all other timber and let the Bodock grow? Jf it makes fine fire wood, and grows easi- ly and rapidly, then why not make the substitute? The only objection to it for fire wood is that it pops and sparkles badly, and is on this account unsuited to open fireplaces. I have seen women who would not tolerate it on an open fireplace, for fear oi burning their children. After it bums into coal it will pop and friz fearfully, and throw out sparks in every di- rection. But for stove wood this would not be an objection, and the probabilities are that open fireplaces will soon be a thing of the past. It is also said to produce the most intense 10 BODOCK. heat of any timber in this country. I have heard a few statements Jo the effect that it would not thrive on poor land. I do not believe a word of it. Near- ly all kinds of timber, and, as far as I know, any timber will grow and flourish on poor land. It does not require rich land to grow fine timber, for I have seen it growing in large quantities almost to perfection on thousands of soils that were too poor for farming. This observation applies to any and all kinds of timber, and there is no reason why Bodock should be an exception. It is true that the soils where Bo- dock grows in this country are surpassingly rich, so in the sec- tion where I live there are no poor lands on which to test it. To sa} r that there are no poor lands in a country is a hign claim, but it applies, preeminently, to the section where I have lived for many years. Auother valuable way in which it could be used in build- ing roads would be cause ways. Cause way a public road with it, and keep it covered a few inches in dirt, and it would never get seriously muddy. The only objection to using it in this way would be that, as we now have it, it would be too crooked, but above, it will be seen, that this objection can be remedied. For bridges on public roads it could not be surpassed. This is always a heavy source of expense, but a Bodock bridge once built would be there to stay, and save the heavy expenses of re-building every few years as it is now done. In this country it is used extensively for piling. In our long summer droughts the land cracks open, and leaves places in which fence rails can be buried. This is not as often as it was before the country was settled, for we have more summer rains, but it frequently cracks enough to seriously injure brick and rock walls. To avoid this large quantities of piling are some- times driven to make a foundation on which to build a fine house. I have heard it said that railroads use it aho for piling in many places. It is used for making wagon wheels, and its use for that purpose io continually increasing. With Bodock hubs, BODOCK. 11 spokes and felleoB there is uo man that could tell how long the wood work of the wheel would last. The wood is so heavy that it is generally used for nothing about a wagon but the wheels. It is said lhat Bodoek wheels are so solid that they will not give, and on that account they will not stand in a rough, rockey country, but how true this is I do not know. It is said to make fine dyes. Last Summer, 30 miles east of here I saw a lot of hands in Brookston trimming the sap wood from Bodoek, and on inquiry I was told that it was for the purpose of making dyes for cloth factories, and it was shipped to England. The Bodoek grows a large, green apple in the shape of an orange, but much larger. I have never seen any kind of stock that would eat them except horses and mules. The apples are full of white milk, bur, while horses are very fond of I hem, yet they generally eat only a few at a time. I have thought that if they were ground, and mixed with other food that they might, in that way, constitute a large part of horse food, and even in their natural state they might be extensively used iu the same way. Horses that are not raised co eat them will re- ject tehm, and would have to be learned to eat them. I have also thought that by grinding and cooking them it might be possible that oiher stock could be learned to eat them, espec- ially if they were mixed with other food. They are permitted to rot where they fall all over this country, but by experiment- ing with them, I found that by keeping them dry and air tight they will keep a longtime, and I think this could be done by putting them up in dry hills, or banks, like sweet potatoes, and covering them up air tight. I am fully convinced that farmers ia this country annually lose large stores of horse food by failing to save their Bodoek apples. Some people say that they injure horses, but fifteen years of observation satisfies me that this is a mistake. Here is another source of revenue, and another one to which all other forest trees are an entire stran- ger. Every farmer who would grow the Bodoek might in this way raise a large part of his animal food with nothing to do, but gather apples as they fall. It might also be that cattle 12 BODOCK. refuse to eat apples for the want, of the frout teeth thai horses have, and even if this is not a fact, by feeding them to calves when Ihey were young, and mixing the apples with other food they might be taught to eat and even relish them as much as horses. The seed of the Bodock apple is so much like the seed of a cucumber that it might be difficult for an inexperienced per- son to tell them apart. It is said that one thousand apples will make a bushel of seed. While the large Bodock is being exhausted at a rapid rate, still where pasture lands are located near enough to recieve the scattering of seed from growing trees the young Bodock seedling is rapidly on the increase, and when they attain a body only a few inches in diameter they begin to bear apples. By this means the stock of apples and seed are also rapidly on the increase. In traveling over the country every autumn hundreds and thousands of bushels can be seen on the ground rotting, and going to waste. North Texas, I am satisfied, grows enough Bodock seed every year to supply the demands of the world, even were it to appreciate the value of the timber, but only enough ol the seed are saved to supply the demand, which is only a limited planting of Bo- dock hedges. Nearly all the garden seedmen in the United States keep Bodock seed for sale, and any one who wants them can secure a supply from these sources. It is said that the seed will not germinate unless they are soaked in hot water. I have frequent- ly seen this statement in print,jbut I never saw any instructions in regard to how hot the water should be, nor how long the seed should remain in soak. Without these instructions some men might cook their seed while others would not heat them enough to produce the necessary state for germination. Hav- ing never had any experience on the subject, I cannot give any definite instructions. I believe, however, that if the seed were planted in the fall or winter they would germinate in the spring, and I draw this conclusion from the large number of volunteer, seedling trees that I have seen. But experiments should be only on a small scale and this would be but an ex- BODOCK. lo periment. "A burnt child dread* the lire," so let the reader take advice when it is from one who lias been burnt, and who has seen many others burnt by trying new things on a large experimental scale. So far as 1 have been able to judge Bodock grows the first few years very slowly, but after it gets up to a good size it then grows very fast. In planting, or transplanting, the trees should be set four feet each way. Then when they get up large enough to be crowded, they can be thiued, and the thining can be repeated as the trees continue to grow. The minings can be used, and when the trees get very large they will answer for wagon timber, lumber, and other purposes. I do not know how close large trees should stand, but they should be left thick enough to produce tall, slender, straight bodies. If I was going to plant an orchard of Bodock, if I was satisfied that the seed would germinate I would check the land off like corn land, and plant the seed in hills in the fall or winter, cultivate the plants until they had a good stare and then let them go. A.1I stock should be kept off of it until it gets out of their reach. Then sow it down in orchard grass. If it is timber land, cut out the small growth, aud grub it every August until the stumps are dead. Then plant your Bodock as above; or the grubbing can be done after the Bodock is planted. When the standing trees are cut they will fall on the little Bodocks and damage them, but if they are removed at once the damage will only be slight. In this way all timber land could be changed into Bo- dock forests within a few years, and still retain a continual supply of timber, for all of the old timber would not be cut un- til the Bodock was large enough to supply its place. There is a forest society in the United States, and (he gov- ernment has had forest officials to encourage the cultivation of forests, but as far as I know, they have passed the Bodock without any notice. If they only knew its value as people iu North Texas know it, and then appreciated it, their reports and essays would be increased tenfold in value. The subject of improving public roads has been discussed at great length for a number of years, and has called forth many 14 DUDOCK. articles from th : public printing press. A society offered are- ward for tbe best, essay on public roads wbich called forth many wrile of the per- secution originated in religious tnallice, and was therefore, an unprovoked religious persecution. "The pen is mighterthan the sword," and through its office the matter will never be permitted to rest until every fraction of the insanity charge is removed from the character of a per- secuted minister of Christ. J. M. COCHRAN. oaooaasoHi Hollii F «X^ Y of congress ooooaasoHbA Hollinger Corp.