New directions of experience to the Commons complaint by the incouragement of the Kings most excellent Maiesty, as may appeare, for the planting of timber and fire-wood. With a neere estimation what millions of acres the kingdome doth containe; what acres is waste ground, whereon little profit for this purpose will arise. : What millions hath bin woods, and bushy grounds, what acres are woods, and in how many acres so much timber will be contained, as will maintaine the kingdome for all vses for euer. : And how as great store of fire-wood may be raised, as may plentifully maintaine the kingdome for all purposes, without losse of ground; so as within thirty yeares all spring-woods may be conuerted to tillage and pasture. / Inuented by Arthur Standish.

Directions for such as are desirous to stocke vp woods, for the improouing of the Soile.

BY conuerting of the same to corne, medow, or pasture, & to haue as much, or rather more profite by the woods, then they had before; is, first, to leaue a yard in breadth round about the sides, for the maintaining of the fence, which may be made once for all, by obseruing the aforesaid directions: Then beginne at a side next to the wood so left, and stocke vp all the wood whatsoeuer, so as the ground may bee plowed tenne yards in breadth, and in the eleuenth yard stocke vp all but fifty fiue of the best trees, which trees would (as neere as may be) be so left, that they may grow foure yards distant one from another, from end to end, as trees planted in an or∣chard: and so stocke vp from side to side, and from end to end, leauing the like distance, so as there may be ten yards distance one way, and foure an other from tree to tree: by which meanes, in euery two rowes, there may be left an hun∣dred and tenne trees out of euery Acre, how great or little soeuer the ground be: which being topped, and after twelue yeares lopped, with many heads (as they may be by the dire∣ctions already set downe, or rather for a greater profite, left vnlopped till the wood be of twenty yeares growth) the pro∣fite thereof, by the greatnes of the wood, and the barke, with

the profite of the wood that may arise about the fence (being made as before is directed) will farre exceed the profite of the vnder-wood growing of all the ground before.

But as the case standeth, and as is more like to stand, by the want of timber, if all the trees were left for timber, and neuer topped nor lopped, would, in time, arise to the greater pro∣fite; especially if they were euery third yeare shread in March, when the sappe is rising vp, and the wood worth the shread∣ding, which sappe would so grow, as it would couer the knottes, by which meanes the trees will grow taper-like, with so small tops, as the ground betweene the rowes may be plowed three yeares, and may be laide to grasse for nine yeares; so may you haue from time to time three yeares good corne, and nine yeares good grasse, and neuer to decay the land, but rather to improue it. The trees beeing thus kept with small toppes, can neither hurt corne or grasse, by drop∣ping or shadow.

Some doe obiect and say, that if all Spring-woods were so stocked, how should hurdles be gotten for the folding of sheepe? To which I answer with experience, where wood is not lopped too young, some of the greatest boughes being lopped and barked, and then laide in water a moneth, they will be so rated, and grow so hard, as wormes can no way hurt them: and beeing so vsed, will make farre better and stronger hurdles, then any young rods whatsoeuer, as may appeare in many Countries of this kingdome where wood is so scant, as they are of necessity constrained to vse willow boughs for spars and laths for many houses, and to vse them about ploughs, carts, and harrowes.

Others do obiect, that the grasse in such wooddy grounds will be so sowre as cattel wil not like of it. To that I answer, that if the rowes be planted East and Weast, or so stocked, as the ground betweene the rowes may haue the morning, noon and euening Sunne, the pasture will be as sweet as any other: the corne will as well like of it as of any other ground, and will as well drie when it is cut, or if the cattell bee put into such grounds before they taste of a sweeter grasse, they will like as well of that grasse as of any other. And for the better

proofe thereof: Who euer saw grasse lost for the eating, in a∣ny forrest, chase or parke, where trees grow thicke, notwith∣standing the cattell in such grounds, (if they be not eaten too bare) like very well, by reason of the shadow in Summer, and shelter in Winter.

A further experience may be taken, to incourage all men hereunto, from about thousands of towns in this kingdome, where are to be seene little closes, of two, three, foure or fiue acres of ground, as haue so much timber or fire-wood grow∣ing about them, as if it were at this instant to be sold, would giue more money then the fee-simple of the land. Whereup∣on it followeth, very fittingly for this purpose, to shew what good may arise to the particular owners of ground, by obser∣uing these directions set downe in sundry places for these purposes, and how the kingdome may be improoued, onelie by wood planted about Parkes, and in Hedges made, and heereafter to be made of wood, so farre from the losse of any, as it may be to the generall good of all men, euen to the ve∣ry poorest, whose reliefe I greatly desire.

And for my further experience, I sawe about Christmas last, a close of sandie Land of foure Acres, taken in the middest of a field belonging to Downam in Norffolke, about forty yeares agoe, and set round about when it was taken in, with young sets, (as it was confessed to me by the Ow∣ner thereof) of Ashe, rootes of Elme, and Thornes, and the most part of the stakes of the Hedge, were of Willow and Sallow, which Stakes and Settes of Wood did so take roote, as vpon my credite there is growing about the saide close fiue hundred fiftie and odde trees, of the aforesaide wood, whereof the Owner confessed vnto mee that hee did euery yeare loppe fiue and fiftie of tenne yeares growing, the which wood hee could yearely sell for forty shillings, and the foure Acres of ground hee could not let for aboue sixe and twentie shillings and eight pence yearely: So that I doe find by experience, that the most sure way to performe this planting, is to make nurseries, which may be kept from Mice by trappes.

And that the simplest may the better vnderstand it, admit for this purpose, that a man haue sixe score Acres of ground in his owne occupation, and that it were equally diuided in∣to twelue Closes, and that but halfe the Fences about those twelue Closes did belong vnto them, by reason that they are ioyning to other mens Closes, (as commonly all inclosed grounds are) there remaineth to euerie of those Closes, an end, and a side, at the least, of the Fence, which containe two furlongs, which is foure-score poles to a Close; all which hedges being planted, according to the directions set downe for hedges, there will arise about these twelue Closes foure and twenty furlongs, whereby the Owner of those Closes, may after thirty yeares, loppe yearely the wood about one Close, being two furlongs, or one furlong of foure and twen∣tie yeares growth; which is the greater profite by much, by reason that the wood being growne so great, it would yeeld sparres for the building of barnes, stables, cottages, and such like straw-thatched houses, with good store of Barke for the tanning of leather, with a greater plentie of Maste, then being lopped yonger, it would yeelde, with many other profites to the Owner thereof, and to the good of the Com∣mon-wealth.

The Maste that may arise by this generall planting, will saue more corne (in those yeares that it taketh) then the wit of man can imagine it to be worth. A late experience there∣of may bee taken from the yeare of our Lord one thousand sixe hundred and eleuen, by the Maste that the small quan∣titie of wood that is left, yeelded that yeare: which Maste fed so many hogges that yeare, as it greatly eased the prises of corne, and other victualls. For the better proofe thereof, it is certaine, vpon confident report of seuerall honest men, that there was saued (by Maste) in some one towne in Lei∣cester-shire, forty quarters of beanes and pease; and in some townes more, and in some lesse: which hogges were driuen into Shropshire to Maste, which in former Ages was a com∣mon course, before woods were destroyed, for the cham∣paine Countries, to feede their hogges in wood-land coun∣tries:

In which times the Officers of Noblemen and Gentle∣men tooke twenty or thirty pounds a yeare, for the feeding of hogges in a Parke, or in a Wood, which hardly now take fiue pounds; and in many Parkes or Woods, not one penny, the woods are so made away.

So (to conclude) he that obserueth the aforesaid directions about the twelue Closes, may yearely loppe eight score load of wood, of twelue yeares growing, woorth to be solde at two shillings sixe pence the load, twentie pounds, and much more, if the closes be lesse. Whereby it appeareth, that all Grounds inclosed, and that heereafter may be inclosed, may be improoued three shil∣lings and foure pence an A∣cre yearely.