CHAP. XLI. LEGUMINA CEE. ROBI‘NIA. 613 
America to Vespasian Robin (son to Jean Robin), who was arborist to 
Louis XIII., and was planted by him in the Jardin des Plantes in 1635. 
In England, it appears to have been first cultivated by the elder Tra- 
descant ; but whether he obtained it from France, or direct from Virginia, is 
uncertain. It is highly probable, that he may have received it from America 
even before Robin, as Parkinson, in his Theatre of Plants, published in 1640, 
mentions the tree as having been grown by Tradescant “ to an exceeding 
height.” The first tree planted in Paris still exists (as noticed p. 136.) ; 
and the first tree planted in Germany, in 1696, still remains, though in a very 
decayed state, in a court-yard in Vienna (as noticed p. 147.). Tradescant’s 
tree was in existence when Sir William Watson visited his garden in 1749. 
(See p. 40.) The earliest notice of the robinia in England is that in Parkin- 
son’s Theatre of Plants, before referred to: it is not mentioned by Gerard, 
either in the first edition of his Heréal, published in 1597, or in that edited by 
Johnson, in 1629. Evelyn, in the first edition of his Sylva, published in 1664, 
says, “ The French have lately brought in the Virginian acacia, which exceed- 
ingly adorns their walks. The tree is hardy against all the invasions of our 
sharpest seasons; but our high winds, which, by reason of its brittle nature, it 
does not so well resist; and the roots (which insinuate and run like liquorice 
under ground) are apt to emaciate the soil, and, therefore, haply not so com- 
mendable in our gardens as they would be agreeable for variety of walks and 
shade. They thrive well in His Majesty’s new plantation in St. James’s Park.” 
(Sylva, ed. 1664, p. 64.) In the edition of the Sylva published in 1706, Evelyn 
speaks of two acacias, the gleditschia and the false acacia ; “ both which,”’ he 
says, “ deserve a place among avenue trees, and love to be planted among moist 
ground.” Mortimer, in 1712, says, “ A great number of acacias were for- 
merly planted in St. James’s Park; but, in consequence of some of their 
branches being broken by the wind, they were all cut down,” Bradley, 
in 1718, speaks of the Virginian acacia as the only species of that tree that 
will stand the open air in England, and refers to some of them growing in 
the court before Russell House, Bloomsbury (now the British Museum), and 
in the Old Palace Yard, Westminster. None of these trees now exist. Ray, in 
his History, published in 1719, mentions the robinia as among the trees growing 
in the Bishop of London’s garden at Fulham. According to Lysons there 
were two trees there in 1809; and the remains of one of them still exist (1836). 
(See p. 43.) Miller, in 1731, speaks of the robinia as very common in gar- 
dens near London, where there were, in his time, several large old trees. He 
says that they are very hardy, but will not endure being exposed to high 
strong winds, which break their branches, and render them unsightly. “ Many 
people,” he adds, “ have neglected to cultivate them on that account ; but they 
will do well if planted in wildernesses among other trees, where they will be 
sheltered, and make a beautiful variety.” Miller mentions one 40 ft. high as 
a large tree; and he also states that, in his time, the robinia had ripened 
seeds in England, from which young plants had been raised. In 1752, he 
says that the robinia was generally propagated in English nurseries by suckers 
from the roots of old trees, but that he prefers raising them from seeds. 
Young plants, he says, frequently make shoots of from 6 ft. to 8 ft. in length 
in one season. “ These trees,” he adds, “ were formerly in great request in 
England, and were frequently planted in avenues, and for shady walks; but 
their branches being generally broken or split down by the wind in summer, 
when they are clethed with leaves, the trees are rendered improper for this * 
purpose; and their leaves coming out late in the spring, and falling off early 
in the autumn, occasioned their being neglected for many years ; but of late 
they have been much in request again, so that the nurseries have been cleared 
of these trees; though, in a few years, they will be as little enquired after as 
heretofore, when those which have been lately planted begin to have their 
ragged appearance.”’ (Dict., 6th edit. in 1752.) In the seventh edition of 
his Dictionary, published in 1759, Miller says that young trees, two or three 
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