ANCIENT WOODS. 35 



wherever men understand what they are about, 

 and are guided and governed by fixed principles, 

 matters go on well ; but the misfortune, with re- 

 gard to woods, is, that ages of "mismanagement," 

 and other causes, interpose obstacles and difficul- 

 ties which it will be no slight task to overcome. 

 To give a brief summary of my views upon this 

 important point, I would remark, that no wood 

 ought to be allowed to run out its term which is 

 not stocked as it ought to be, or which, if stocked 

 tolerably well, is suffering injury from imperfect 

 drainage. As I have just said, these points must 

 be determined by an examination of the wood by 

 some person whose judgment may be relied upon ; 

 but any gentleman may see at once, if he will, 

 that if a wood is really in the state which I have 

 supposed, viz., without either timber or underwood 

 worth standing, &c. it would be perfectly absurd 

 to let it stand ; for at the end of the cycle it would 

 be very little better than at the beginning, and so 

 much more time would be irrecoverably lost. 



As to the second point the improvement of 

 revenue to be derived from a different mode of 



disposing of the produce, I am of opinion that 

 F 



