116 English, Timber and Underivood. 



As the country became more civilised and conditions altered, 

 better uses were found for the timber and underwood, and the 

 Rating Act of 1601 proves that " saleable underwood " was of 

 importance at that date. During several centuries the most 

 important timber was oak, for shipbuilding. Length and 

 diameter of butt were important, but, owing to the shape of 

 ships, curved pieces of timber were also required, so that they 

 could be cut with the grain, and there followed a special demand 

 for curved pieces of oak. Again, a natural bracket being 

 better than a mortised or artificial one, brackets for supporting 

 decks, &c., were made from " knees " of oak timber. Special 

 lengths and sizes of oak timber were also in request, but 

 although a big demand for oak knees and bends undoubtedly 

 existed, its importance has been much exaggerated. The 

 special demand for a given size or variety of timber naturally 

 ensures a special price, which in turn, encourages methods of 

 so producing the timber that as many trees as possible may 

 realise it. John Evelyn, in Sylva — the first classic of English 

 forest literature, written in 1664 — explains how an oak should 

 be grown to produce the crooks, bends, knees and other special 

 requirements of the navy. There is still a small demand for 

 oak knees, but few people would now advocate growing oak 

 for this purpose. Long, straight and clean timber, free from 

 bends or side-branches, is in most request. Every limb on 

 the stem — meaning a knot in the plank — renders the timber 

 of less value for present-day purposes. 



Through past centuries and up to comparatively recent times, 

 almost the only agitations for the proper production of timber 

 in this country aimed at improving the supply of oak for ship- 

 building. Such agitations were many, as timber for the navy 

 was naturally of sapreme importance. So much of our old 

 literature and tradition had to do with producing and marketing 

 oak for shipbuilding, that the method of marketing and growing 

 oak for this purpose has permeated our system so thoroughly 

 as to leave its mark on present-day marketing and on pro- 

 duction in the woods. The business methods of many timber 

 merchants are still founded on handling oak for the navy. 

 Many woodmen still advance the same arguments in regard 

 to the growing of timber to-day that have been handed 

 down to them for generations. These views, possibly, were 

 sound in the shipbuilding days, but it does not follow that 

 they are correct to-day, when the timber is required for other 

 purposes. 



Many persons seem still to imagine that our oak, being no 

 longer in demand for shipbuikling, is unsuitable for other uses 

 and markets. As all our timbers are viewed thus pessimistically, 

 it is advisable to dispose of the fallacy by analysing the basis 



