202 ROBINIA rSEUDACACIA. 



the hoiirlit of sixfy-five feet, in fifty years after planting, with a trunk twenty- 

 five indies in dianicti-r. 



In I'rance, and in tlie south of Germany, M. BaudriMart informs us in the " Dic- 

 tionnaire des Manx et des Forets," puhiished in 182."), that the locust was first 

 received with enthusiasm as an ornainrntal tree; hut was afu^rwards rejected, 

 on accomit of the late ai)j)earance of its leaves, its fragile hranches, disa<rreeable 

 sj)ines. and ahove all. because it would not bear the shears. Until the introduc- 

 tion o[ the modern style of i?ardening, it had almost become forgotten, when a 

 reaction took place in its favour, and from the rajiidity of its irrowth. and useful 

 (jualities, it was preferred to all other trees. Many authors, who have written 

 on this tree, in France, have generally exaggerated its merits. Thus, M. Fran- 

 cois was in favour of planting it in particular soils and situations , but others 

 reeommeuded it to be planted everywhere; and. in consequence of its not suc- 

 ceeding in unsuitable soils, a third class of writers were for discontinuing its cul- 

 tivation altogether. As examples of want of success in cultivating this tree, 

 there were several instances where large tracts of land were ploughed, and 

 sown broad-cast with locust seeds, which came up, but the plants never attained 

 any magnitude, owing to the lightness and sterility of the soil. M. liaudnllart 

 refers to a case on the heaths of Gondreville, where the tree was extensively 

 planted in a white sand, and proved a complete failure, except on the banks of 

 ditches; although the Pinns maritima and sylvestris, and the birch had been 

 cultivated there with tolerable success. He makes mention of another instance 

 in the Bois de Boulogne, where locusts, that were planted at the same time with, 

 and among masses of the birch, the yew, the chesnut, the perfumed cherry, and 

 the common sallow, grew rapidly for five or six years, rising far above them at 

 first, but gradually disappeared after a certain time, the other trees having 

 become more vigorous, and finally choked them out. He further states that, 

 " M. Mallet had no better success in the Forest of Mareuil, in the department of 

 Vienne, where the soil is moist and aquatic : nor in the Forest of Cliatellerault, 

 where it is dry and sandy.'' M. Baudrillart concludes, by repeating, after 

 Michaux, that "it is only in a favourable climate, and in a good soil, that the 

 tree attains a great size, even in its native country." 



In France, at Paris, in the Jardin des Plantes, the remains of the parent tree, 

 planted in 163."), by M. Vespasian Robin, is said still to exist, and is nearly 

 eighty feet in height. At Villers, there is another tree of this species, which 

 attained the height of sixty feet in twenty years after planting. 



In Germany, at Schwobber, in Hanover, the remains of an old Robinia still 

 exist, which has been planted nearly one hundred and thirty years. At Wor- 

 litz, in Saxony, there is another which attained the height of sixty feet in sixty- 

 four years after planting. 



In Denmark, at Dronengaard, near Copenhagen, there is a locust which 

 attained the height of sixty feet in forty years after planting. 



In Russia, upon the foundations of the Palace of Yalomensk, in the neighbour- 

 hood of Moscow, there is a hedge of acacia, according to Leitch Ritchie, planted 

 in such a manner as to indicate the plan of the building. This palace was built 

 by Peter the Great, and at a short distance from it is another tree, surrounded 

 by a table and benches, under which young Peter received his lessons. At Mos- 

 cow, the locust does not attain any considerable size : but, according to Descemet, 

 it thrives in the Crimea in all its varieties. 



In Switzerland, there are several locust-trees, which have attained a height of 

 fifty to seventy feet. 



In Italy, in the palace gardens at Monza. there is a noble tree of this species, 

 which attained the height of seventy-five feet in twenty-nine years after plant- 

 ing, with a trunk two feet in diameter, and an ambitus of forty feet. 



