110 SYLVA FLORIFERA. 



stance, as they neither lessen our quantity of 

 grain, nor occupy ground where the oak 

 would thrive. We have already, in the his- 

 tory of the fir-tree, noticed the individual 

 advantage that may be derived from forming 

 plantations of this tree ; and the benefit is not 

 less in a national point of view, as the country 

 cannot be enriched without contributing in 

 some degree to the comforts of the most 

 humble individuals, and we are decidedly of 

 opinion, that there is no spot to be found in 

 this nation, but what could be turned to profit 

 if proper attention were given as to what 

 kind of vegetation was most suitable to the 

 soil. We have still many thousand acres of 

 land lying waste that would afford masts to 

 all our vessels, from those which bring the 

 finny tribe to our shores, to those which pro- 

 tect them by their wooden walls ; and much 

 as we dislike the sound of war, we would 

 wish, in the midst of peace, to see our de- 

 fensive weapons springing around us for 

 future security. 



The ornamental plantation, as a national 

 advantage, is not duly appreciated ; for it is 

 in such situations that trees foreign to our 

 soil have become naturalized, and their pro- 

 perties so made known to us, that we might 

 judge how far their cultivation would answer 



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