36 North American Forests and Forestry 



pose that in time of war those governments should 

 prohibit the export of such stores, what would be- 

 come of British shipping, both naval and mercantile ? 

 For these reasons the government tried to in- 

 duce the New England colonists to quit farming, 

 and especially the catching of sea fish and the con- 

 siderable foreign commerce built thereon, and go 

 to producing naval stores. The colonists would 

 have been ready enough to do so, though at first 

 they knew nothing about the business and pro- 

 duced inferior qualities of tar and pitch, but they 

 found it did not pay to sell their goods in England, 

 notwithstanding a bounty offered by the govern- 

 ment. A British vessel could make three trips to 

 the Baltic or five to Norway during the time con- 

 sumed by one voyage to New England. Conse- 

 quently the cost of transportation made the sale of 

 such goods in England unremunerative. But the 

 colonists soon drove quite a lively trade in ship 

 timber and masts, as well as other lumber, with the 

 West Indies, and even with Portugal and Spain, to 

 the horror of the British officials, who became in- 

 dignant at the wickedness of people supplying for- 

 eigners with war material. Partly on account of the 

 efforts of the government and partly through natu- 

 ral advantages and native enterprise, the lumber 

 trade soon became a principal source of New Eng- 

 land prosperity. As early as 1663, a sawmill was 

 erected on Salmon Falls River in New Hampshire, 

 and in 1 706 no less than seventy were running on 

 the Piscataqua. 



