52 LEGUMINACE^E. 



equal degree by the larch, and perhaps by the wild cherry,) 

 is not sufficient to counterbalance the disadvantages under 

 which it labours. 



Among the various objections to which the cultivation 

 of the Locust upon an extensive scale and with a view to 

 profit is liable, the following appear to hold a prominent 

 place : 1st. it requires a rich free soil and sheltered situa- 

 tion to attain a size fit for any useful purpose, and even 

 with these advantages, it seldom attains dimensions to 

 make it generally useful : 2nd. from the succulent and 

 exhausting nature of its roots, it requires a much greater 

 space to reach maturity than many other trees produ- 

 cing timber of a larger scantling and of greater value : 

 3rd. it is not a tree to plant in mixed plantations ; the 

 surrounding species, notwithstanding the rapidity of its 

 early growth, generally overtopping and destroying it 

 before it acquires size sufficient to repay the planter for 

 its occupancy : 4th. trees equally or, in some respects, 

 better qualified for the uses for which the Locust has 

 been recommended, can be grown upon inferior soils, in 

 less time and in much greater bulk, both individually 

 and per acre : such we hold to be the case with the larch, 

 where posts, railings, hurdles, and other enduring articles 

 are required ; and such is the case with the ash, the 

 Spanish chesnut, and the gean, where hop-poles are the 

 object in view. Indeed, with respect to the fitness of 

 the Locust for the latter purpose (for which it was highly 

 lauded by Oobbett), the evidence adduced by Mr. Loudon 

 is pretty conclusive against it ; as he shows, that at a 

 hop-pole size, it does not last longer than other woods, 

 that the stools do not throw up shoots so freely as those 

 of many other trees, and that the essential requisites of a 



