i $ December 1 748. 



they are arrived at a certain age. Thus we 

 find great woods here, but when the trees 

 in them have ftood an hundred and fifty or 

 an hundred and eighty years, they are 

 either rotting within, or lofing their crown, 

 or their wood becomes quite foft, or their 

 roots are no longer able to draw in fuf- 

 ficient nourishment, or they die from fome 

 other caufe. Therefore when ftorms blow, 

 which fometimes .happens here, the trees 

 are broke off either juft above the root, or 

 in the middle, or at the fummit. Several 

 trees are likewife torn out with their roots 

 by the power of the winds. The florins 

 thus caufe great devaftations in thefe fo- 

 refts. Every where you fee trees thrown 

 down by the winds, after they are too 

 much weakened by one or the other of the 

 above mentioned caufes to be able to fe- 

 fift their fury. Fire likewife breaks out 

 often in the woods, and burns the trees 

 half way from the root, fo that a violent 

 guft of wind eafily throws them down. 



On travelling through thefe woods, I 

 purpofely tried to find out, by the pofition 

 of the trees which were fallen down, 

 which winds are the ftrongeft hereabouts. 

 But I could not conclude any thing with 

 certainty, for the trees fell on all fides, and 

 lay towards all the points of the compafs. 



I there- 



