Note 140 — {251} LETTER XXI
Reading edition
It was common for early Western travellers to mention large trees as indicative of the richness of the soil. Among others, the following mention the great trees of the West: Washington, Harmar, William Brown, Cutler, Harris, Baily, Hildreth, and Birkbeck. Most of these trees were sycamores, such as that monster which Washington measured on his tour in 1770. Some very large apple-trees are also mentioned.—Ed.