10 INTRODUCTION. 



want of attention, will be the object of the follow- 

 ing " Remarks." 



It is really surprising that in an age like this, 

 when there is an onward movement in almost 

 everything else, such instances of "mismanage- 

 ment" of Woods, &c. should every where meet 

 the eye. If any one well acquainted with the 

 subject, were to take horse and ride through every 

 county of the kingdom, he would find in ninety 

 cases out of a hundred, the Old Woods especially, 

 to be in as bad a condition as if they were solely 

 intended for fox or game covers, and incapable of 

 being turned to any other use. They are permit- 

 ted to continue precisely in the same uncultivated 

 state in which their present possessors found 

 them, Gentlemen too often totally overlooking 

 the important fact, that while they might, by 

 proper attention to the draining and improvement 

 of their Woods, and the best mode of disposing 

 of the produce, give employment to a very 

 considerable number of their poor dependents ; 

 increase the present revenue, and lay the found- 

 ation of a greatly improved permanent income 

 from them, they would, to a very small extent, 



