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Feb. 15. have been endeavouring in vain to make him receive: If he refuses still this last mark of my friendfhip, I renounce him for my friend from this moment, and I intreat our common friends, to revenge my insulted memory, by ceasing to visit so unreasonable a philosopher *.

I fhall have lefs trouble, I believe, to make my good friend Agib accept a legacy. What do I not owe this dear Agib? He attached himself to me, almost in spite of myself, as soon as he saw I was old and infirm; and he never quits me one moment, from the time I was given over. It was him who made me see a thousand perfections, I, nor any of my friends imagined I pofsefsed. It is him who observed with a severe eye all the giddy tricks of my nephews, and who gave me an account of them rather more than true. But what fhall I leave such a zea. lous and officious friend? A good counsel, that I hope he will profit by it. "Chuse better your dupes, my dear Agib, and never act your part of friend, but to one who to his riches adds vanity and weakness, you will find a hundred of this sort !"

Done at Balsora in the 322d. year of the Hegira the 9th day of the moon Regeb.

SIR,

HASSAN BEN-AIOUB SERVANT OF GOD.

SPECULATION

ON REARING OAK WOODS IN SCOTLAND.

To the Editor of the Bee.

SEVERAL of your correspondents have communicated to you many important hints upon the improve

Abbe Blanchet, the writer of this tale, has here delineated his own

character with surprising fidelity,

ments of Scotland, but among all the improvements suggested, the rearing of oak wood, is perhaps one of the greatest consequence. And to stimulate the landholders here to the culture of this valuable wood, it may be of use to take a fhort view of the advantages of rearing oak in Scotland, beyond those which the landholders in England enjoy.

That oak is a native of Scotland as well as of England, is apparent from the woods at Hamilton, Dalkeith, Yester, and several others.

The counties in England which produce the greatest quantities of oak, are Hampshire, Sufsex, Kent, Essex, and Yorkshire, all upon the east coast. Hampshire, for its size, perhaps produces more oak than any of the others. It is very well inclosed, the inclosures are not large, and round them the oak is almost the only wood in their hedge-rows. There is a royal forest in Hampshire, but their inclosed fields yield a greater quantity of oak than the forest does.

An oak becomes fully grown in about sixty years, upon rich soils, and sells high. When I was in Warwickshire, a few years ago, Mr Editor, an oak tree was sold there for L. 100; it was said to be one hundred years old, but surely it paid the proprietor, or his heirs, very well for being allowed to grow so long.

The price of bark, both in England and Scotland, has been upon the advance for many years; it is now about double of what it was forty or fifty years ago, and is still looking up.

Plantations near a river, or the sea, are no doubt to be preferred for the convenience of water carriage; but were the carriages called teams, made on purpose in England for transporting timber, to be adopted here, land carriage would not come so high as it does at present. A team of two horses, will bring three or four tons ten or twelve miles at a very moderate charge.

Where there are rivers near plantations, in which there may be cataracts, these may sometimes be avoided. There is a fir wood, in a very elevated situation in the Highlands, which belonged to a gentleman of the name of Grant; most of the trees are large enough to be fit for masts to a man of war. A Mr Bacon from Yorkshire, hearing of this wood, went to see it. It is situated near a river, in which there is a deep cataract, over which he caused the trees to be tumbled, when the river became flooded; but upon examining them, they were so much fhaken by the fall, as to be rendered unfit for masts, and he abandoned the speculation. Some years after, a Mr Dodesworth, from the same county, a gentleman of penetration, hearing of this extraordinary wood, went to see it, and having examined the banks of the river he bought the wood. He directed a small canal, or ditch, to be cast from above the cataract, sloping along one of the banks, into which, when the river was flooded, the timber was conducted to a safe situation in the bed of the river, and so down to the sea.

The price of bark in England, is from L. 6, 10s. to L. 7, per ton, (20 cwt.) when brought here, loaded

with freight, insurance, and the importer's profit, it is sold for L. 8, 10s. per ton.

It is computed that the value of the bark in England, amounts to about one-third of the value of the timber.

The common prices of oak for hip-building in England, are from forty to forty-five fhillings per ton, (forty cubical feet,) when brought here; loaded with much the same charges as the bark is, it is sold for from sixty-six to seventy-two fhillings per

ton.

In Scotland the wood-cutters of young woods (u sually cut at twenty or twenty-five years growth) look up to the value of the bark for their reimbursement and profit; the timber being too small for fhipbuilding, is but of little value.

Oak has the advantage of other timber in the value of its bark; and besides, when allowed to grow till it becomes fit for fhip-building, it yields at least four-pence a foot more than afh, elm, or plane trees. And farther, there is no danger of the rearing of it being overdone, as all the oak for fhip-building is brought from England, or the east sea; and threefourths of the bark used upon the east coast, even as far as the Murray frith, comes from England; whereas the other sorts of timber mentioned, are now so plentiful, as nearly to supply the demands for home consumption.

In an open country, beltings are absolutely necefsary for the rearing timber of any kind; but when a

country becomes completely inclosed, even by trees in hedge-rows, beltings become lefs necefsary.

It is said, most of the other sorts of trees grow faster than the oak, for the first forty years, but after that period, the oak grows faster than any of them, and that it is inconceivable, how much both the wood and the bark increase, by allowing the tree to grow till it is ripe; even many of the branches become fit for fhip-building, and are converted into what is called the ribs of fhips.

I have often thought, Mr Editor, that it would be a speculation well worth the attention of a commercial company, to purchase oak woods, when they come to be sold, at twenty or twenty-five years growth, from the proprietor, at an auction, (and they are commonly sold by auction,) and agree to pay to him a like sum at the expiration of other twenty or twenty-five years, and so in proportion, for the time the purchasers find it eligible to keep the wood growing, till it is fully ripe. For it is pofsible that woods, being brought to sale so very young, may be owing to some exigency in the finances of the proprietors. Wishing every succefs to the Bee,

I am,

Edin. Dec. 1791.

Sir,

Your very humble servant,

MEANWELL.

ACCOUNT OF AN ANCIENT STONE COFFIN.

To the Editor of the Bee.

SIR, In the month of December last year, when some people were digging gravel for repairing the public road betwixt Edinburgh and Dumfries, in the pa

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