348 SYLVAN SKETCHES. 



Extraordinary things have been said of the value and 

 duration of the wood of the Robinia. Evelyn quotes 

 the opinion of a shipwright who was sent over to Virginia 

 to build two large ships, and used often to say that, if a 

 sufficient quantity could be had, it would be the best 

 timber he had ever met with for building of ships. This 

 man, after completing his engagements with his em- 

 ployers, built a vessel for himself, and not having the 

 iron necessary for some important parts of it, had recourse 

 to the hazardous experiment of substituting the wood of 

 the Locust tree. When he arrived in Liverpool, he 

 thought it prudent to remove this wood from some parts, 

 and replace it with iron, but it was found in very ex- 

 cellent condition. The parts for which it was used were 

 what the shipwrights term trenails, a kind of wooden 

 pins, generally used in building vessels ; but, in this case, 

 they supplied the place of iron bolts. This wood has 

 since been used frequently for trenails, and found su- 

 perior to the best oak in strength and duration ; but it is 

 sufficiently plentiful to be used for other parts of ships. 



The leaves afford an excellent and grateful fodder to 

 cattle ; and its cultivation has been much encouraged 

 for this purpose in New England, where the grass is fre- 

 quently dried up by summer droughts. 



