CHAP. XLI. LEGUMINA CE/E. HOBI N7//. 619 



ever different the results, it may safely be concluded, that sound acacia wood 

 is heavier, harder, stronger, more rigid, more elastic, and tougher, than that 

 of the best English oak ; and, consequently, that it is more fit than oak for 

 trenails. The late Lord King, who had some large locust trees on his 

 estate at Ockham Court, gives the following opinion of the strength and 

 durability of the timber. He says, " It endures as posts longer than oak or 

 any other wood, except yew ; but it is not as well known that it never breaks 

 to any strain : I can give you an instance in proof of this. We are in the 

 habit of using a machine called, with us, the bolsters, for bringing home 

 large trees without any other tackle. The axletree is always made of the 

 best ash ; and yet mine never lasted more than two years, without being 

 broken with the strain of lifting trees from the ground, occasioned by the 

 sudden force when the pole turns over. About 25 years ago, my carpenter 

 put in an acacia axle, which lasted 1 1 years, and then was as sound as it was 

 the first day ; but, as the wheels were worn out, the carpenter thought it best 

 to put in another acacia axle, as some of the pin-holes were a little worn ; and I 

 believe that axletree now remains in use." (Withers's Treatise, p. 283.) At 

 Goodwood, in Sussex, there are a great many acacia trees in the plantations, 

 which were planted in the days of Collinson and Miller. The timber has been 

 chiefly used for out-door fences ; and, after standing 30 years, is yet perfectly 

 sound. It is there considered much superior to the oak, for its strength 

 and durability. (Ibid., p. 290.) At Cheam, in Surrey, on the estate of A. 

 Palmer, Esq., there are acacia posts which have stood 30 years, and are 

 quite sound ; and trees which, after having been 14 years planted, are large 

 enough for making such posts. (Ibid., p. 289.) In the various communi- 

 cations to Mr. Withers, there is no evidence of the durability of the locust 

 as hop-poles, notwithstanding all that Cobbett has said on the subject. One 

 writer speaks of trying the young trees in that capacity; and another says 

 that he found that the locust, when about the size of a stake, did not 

 possess more durability than stakes of the oak or the beech, of the same di- 

 mensions. The sap-wood of the acacia, this writer adds, appears to be 

 equally as rapid in decay as that of the oak. (Ibid., p. 249.) The truth is, 

 as Lord King and Lord Stanhope observe to Mr. Withers (Ibid., 591. and 

 292.), the acacia is a branchy-headed tree, both when young and old ; and is 

 neither calculated to produce straight poles in the former state, nor much 

 timber in the latter. 



In America, according to Michaux, the greatest consumption of locust 

 wood is for posts ; which, if the tree is felled in winter, when the cir- 

 culation of the sap is suspended, and the posts are allowed to become 

 perfectly dry before they are set, are estimated to last 40 years. This dura- 

 tion, however, varies exceedingly, according to the soil and situation in which 

 the trees have grown ; those having the heart-wood red lasting twice as long 

 as those in which it is white. Michaux has remarked that, if the trunks of 

 the locust trees grown in the north of Pennsylvania exceed 15 in. in diameter, 

 when they are cut down and split open, they are frequently found to be de- 

 cayed at the heart; but that this is not the case with trees that have grown 

 farther south : which shows that poor soil and a cold climate are not suf- 

 ficient, as Governor Pownall seems to allege (see p. 615.), to make the tree 

 produce good timber. The American shipwrights use as much locust 

 wood as they can procure ; finding it as durable as the live oak, and 

 the red cedar ; with the advantage of being stronger than the former, 

 and lighter than the latter. It is difficult, however, to procure locust 

 wood of sufficient size for ship-building ; for, even in those districts where 

 the tree thrives best, nine tenths of the trunks do not exceed 1 ft. in di- 

 ameter, and from 30 ft. to 40 ft. in height. The wood is used for trenails in 

 all the seaports of the middle states, to the exclusion of every other kind of 

 timber. Instead of decaying, it acquires an extraordinary degree of hardness 

 with time. In 1819, these trenails were 10 dollars a thousand at Philadelphia ; 

 and from 50,000 to 100,000 of them were annually exported to England. 



