GROWING GOLD. 69 



whether it will bear the bending for planking, 

 and the battering of cannon, to which ships 

 of war are liable ; this is doubtful, as it is very 

 subject to split of itself ; therefore a cannon 

 shot would do twenty times more damage to a 

 ship built with it, than to one made of oak. 



There are several small plantations of 

 recent date about this place, consisting of 

 oak, Spanish chesnut, pines of various kinds, 

 broad leafed elm, poplar, alder, &c. but they 

 are all set too far apart in the first instance, 

 so that none of their leading shoots are 

 sufficiently protected from the wind ; and the 

 space admits of the oak branching too much, 

 hence, there is some allowance to be made for 

 their not being so tall as the Spanish chesnuts. 

 For the last three or four years those planta- 

 tions have grown as well as such an arrange- 

 ment would allow : but there is still little, if any 

 probability, that the trees will grow to maturity. 



It may perhaps be stated that these plan- 

 tations were made for the preservation of game ; 



