[Greenbuilding] [BULK] Re: Wood Info

[Lawrence Lile]

>Why is sawing locust like barbecuing carp?
 
OOh, fun,  this is sort of like asking why the Chicken crossed the Road!  
 
You might spend the time to barbecue beef, Bass, or Salmon, but Carp is not considered much of a fish. *  An old joke has it that a good recipe for carp is to stake it out on a nice cedar board, add butter and spices, bake it in the oven at 400F for an hour, then throw away the fish and eat the board. 
 
Locust, around here anyway, is cussed universally by farmers with inflatable tires, because of the long thorns.  While they will use it for fenceposts, it's crooked, tiny trunks are useless for lumber.  So sawing Locust into lumber is like Barbequeing Carp.  Why are the trunks crooked and tiny?  Farmers always cut it down, and it sprouts back profusely fromt he root, making little bundles of tiny trees with spiky attitude.  The second growth from the roots has more thorns and numerous teenier trunks, creating a viscious cycle. 
 
That being said, Honey locust is one of the highest fuel value woods that grow int he midwest (Only Hedgeapple is higher, of the ones I know well). The beans are edible, as are most legumes, and cows will digest them readily.  People, however, have to boil them incessantly to get them to be chewable. It is very rot resistant, makes great fenceposts, is a legume which fixes nitrogen, there is almost nothing bad about it if you don't mind the thorns, which can reach 8", are most profuse at eye level and almost always cause an infection if you get stung by one.  Not to mention their effect on Tractor Tires.  
 
Lawrence Lile
 
*Tilapia, being carp, is an exception