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TT: Re: TreeTown-Digest V97 #110
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In a message dated 97-12-31 14:03:01 EST, you write:
<< From: Gary Letteron <glue39@mail.bcpl.lib.md.us>
Date: Wed, 31 Dec 1997 14:02:25 -0500 (EST)
Subject: TT: osage orange
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Did someone say that the osage orange isn't good for much? It has dense
wood that appears almost tropical. There is nothing better for making
tool handles! >>
Your comment takes me back to my zookeeping days in Topeka Kansas, where I was
in charge of the walk-through tropical exhibit. We used osage orange in
exhibits. It was the only wood that lasted more than a few days on the
macaws' island: their sharp beaks whittled oak as fast as balsa wood. It's
hell on saws though, really gives you an appreciation for the skill of those
Indians with their flint tools!
Another use for the fruit is to repel cockroaches (which are ubiquitous in
tropical habitats inc. artificial ones). You put the green fruits under the
sink where they give off a mild scent that really does seem to make the bugs
go away. At least a lot of Kansans will tell you so. I used diatomaceous
earth mixed with boric acid with better results.
-Connie Cloak
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