ANCIENT WOODS. 49 



have been alike interested in the continuance of 

 the lease. 



But as I must now very shortly bring such 

 of my " Remarks" as refer to "Ancient Woods," 

 to a close, it may be as well just to run over the 

 whole subject in a recapitulary form, so as to 

 present it to the reader in a sort of bird's-eye 

 view. 



I have, then, endeavoured to show, that the 

 present state of the Ancient Woods of this king- 

 dom is very far from what it ought to be, and 

 fully proves that their owners have paid little 

 attention to them : that they are almost valueless 

 to them, simply and only for want of better man- 

 agement : that they are capable of such a degree 

 of improvement as would insure from them a fair, 

 reasonable return : I have endeavoured to show 

 this by contrasting the plans of woodmen, if they 

 can be said to have any, with those which, in my 

 judgment, ought to be pursued ; and I am not 

 aware that I have, upon any one point, exposed 

 the errors of their course, without suggesting that 

 which I conceive would be the right one. It is 

 quite impossible, however, to lay down in a book 



