APPENDIX. 141 



The American oak is very different to the 

 English ; this tree is very ornamental and fast 

 in its growth, and will do well from being 

 transplanted ; I have known them, in this 

 country, grow upwards of six feet in one 

 season ; but the wood, from its free growth, is 

 naturally porous, and more used in this country 

 for purposes where soft grained wood is neces- 

 sary, than for its durability ; and as English 

 oak is known not to flourish in any country like 

 England, as long as we keep a good supply of 

 that valuable timber we may always ensure 

 to ourselves the strongest maritime power in 

 the world. 



Although I have passed over the elms with- 

 out entering deeply into the cause of the 

 decay of this valuable tree, I must say, I hope 

 they will not share the same fate the acacias 

 did, many years back : the common acacia, of 

 which I am speaking, is a native of America, 

 where it is now grown in large quantities, and 

 equal in durability to any timber which that 

 quarter of the globe produces. I find, from good 

 authority, at the firstplanting of the royal gardens 

 in St. James's Park, a great number of them 

 were planted by Mr. Mollett, who then had 

 the laying out of the grounds ; but, when the 

 trees grew large, the wood being naturally 



