The Locust. 



feet deep, a bed of sour clay under the gravel. This ground 

 was, liowever, well trenched, in the manner recommended in 

 this work : the gravel was kept at bottom, though the 

 ground was all well moved to the depth of two or three 

 feet. But, who can reasonably wish trees to grow faster 

 than those of this second plantation. At the utmost, it is 

 but fourteen years old, and the average height is thirty-six 

 feet seven inches ; the average bigness round at bottom is, 

 two feet four inches; and, at twelve feet high, the average 

 bigness round is one foot five inches ; and the average dia- 

 meter is more than seven inches. Where do you find such 

 a growth as this, even of Firs f One of these trees is suffi- 

 cient for a common gate-post ; sufficient to cut sills of dooi^s 

 and windows out of. And always, straight or crooked, fit 

 for ship-trunnels, which are not above eighteen inches long, 

 and only about two inches through. You may plant to- 

 day, and have wood for ship-trunnels in five or six years' 

 time. 



360. I beg the reader to look at the shape of the above 

 trees. The two first wei-e wanted to spread, and were^ 

 therefore, pruned to have limbs come out not far from the 

 ground. The heads of these are about twenty feet across. 

 The others, from Nos. 3 to 12, were planted in close order, 

 not at more than four feet apart. They were kept pruned 

 to a single stem, until Sidmouth and Company drove me 

 off early in 1817. That year, and 1818, they went un- 

 pruned ; but I pruned them again at Christmas 1819, 

 though some of them had then got limbs too big to cut off. 

 My intention was, that they should have clear stems forty 

 feet long. The prunings of these few trees produced a good 

 large parcel of fire-wood ; and here is another important 

 matter ; for the Locust wood, green or dry, is the very best 

 for fuel. It is, at least, nearly equal to the Hickory, A log of 



