The Locust. 



iron for that purpose, and none being to be had at that time in the country, 

 *' he was obliged to put a stop to the work, till he bethought himself of the 

 following succedaneum : — He had formerly (as hinted above) observed the 

 " extraordinary strength and firmness of the Locust-tree, and on this occa- 

 ** sion took it into his head that tree-nails of that timber might be substi- 

 ** luted for iron bolts, in many places where least liable to wrench or twist, 

 ** as in fastening the floor-timbers to the keel, and the knees to the end of the 

 " beams, which two articles take up a large proportion of the iron used in a 

 ship ; purposing, when he arrived in England, to bore out the Locust tree- 

 " nails, and drive iron bolts in their stead. When he first informed me of 

 this scheme, I must own I thought the experiment very hazardous. How- 

 ** ever, as necessity has no law, he put it in practice. The ship was built in 

 ** that manner, loaded, and sailed for Liverpool, where she arrived safe; and, 

 ** though they met with some blowing weather on the passage, she never 

 *' made so much water but that one pump could easily keep her free. She 

 ** returned back to Virginia the next year, when I had an opportunity of being 

 informed, by the builder himself (who was then Captain of her), of what 

 ** had been the result of his project. He said, that duriug the passage, espe- 

 cially in blowing weather, he was very attentive in examining the water- 

 ** ways, as, at that place, weak ships are most liable to work and strain ; but 

 " that he could not perceive anything more than is usual in other vessels. 

 When unloaded, she was hauled ashore upon the bank, in order to be 

 searched both outside and inside ; when, on the strictest examination, it 

 was found the Locust tree-nails, that had been substituted instead of iron 

 *^ bolts, seemed (to all appearance) to have effectually answered the purpose 

 intended ; however, it was thought prudent to take several of them out, and 

 put in iron bolts in their room : and this operation afforded another proof 

 of their extraordinary strength and firmness ; as they endured to be hacked 

 out with a set-bolt, just as well as though they had been iron : whereas 

 ** Oak tree-nails are usually bored out with an augur. The next voyage the 

 ** ship made was to the West Indies, where the Captain died, and with him 

 ** ended (for the present) any further prosecution of this matter : for, though 

 ** the success of the above experiment was known to many, yet (as is fre- 

 quently the case with new discoveries) none, that I ever heard of, made 

 any use of Locust tree-nails in ship-building till many years after ; though 

 on the goodness of that article greatly depends the strength and durableness 

 of a ship. I frequently recommended it, when opportunities offered, but 

 ** all to no purpose, till about twenty years ago, when 1 was settled in trade 

 at Rhode Island, I persuaded some ship-builders to try the experiment; but 

 ** notwithstanding all my endeavours, the use of Locust tree-nails still conti- 

 ** nued to be little practised or known, till it happened to be adopted by a 

 ** builder of some eminence at New York, and of late years has been intro- 

 ** duced into general use there, and in some parts of New England; but, as 



