THE OSAGE ORANGE

by Tom Pyle

["Ottawa Herald," 04 Oct 1928, page 2, column 3]

There was a time when the Osage orange was popular in Franklin county. People sought it instead of condemning it. It was another case of German carp. This town of Ottawa wasn't three years old when country folks began to clamor for Osage orange seed. So along in the winter of 1866 Deacon G. W. Beeman made an effort and got hold of a considerable quantity of the seed and proceeded to raise plants for sale. At the same time Prof. Kelsey announced that he had several hundred bushels of the oranges stored in Cass county, Mo., and that in the spring he would be able to supply seed. Most farmers bought cuttings for their hedges. An now they are cutting them out.