It is botanically, Robi-nia, so named from Jean Robin, botanist to Henry the Fourth, of France, who raised it from American seeds, towards the end of the seventeenth century. It is possibly the hardest wood of any timber tree. It is almost indestructible, and hence valuable for posts. It makes rapid growth in even poor soil, and the roots do not rob the ground much. Crops can be grown nearly up to the trunk. Its defects are, that it is very attractive to an insect, the locust borer, and it is utterly wanting in elasticity, and is useless for purposes that require nails or spikes to be used. They draw out in summer.