6 THE WOODLANDS. 



panion as he longs for, it is the object of this little 

 volume to supply. Together, the wanderer and his 

 mentor, thus introduced, will henceforth gossip to- 

 gether over their favourite theme. 



Going backwards to early English history we 

 discover that these islands were noted for their wood- 

 land character ; for their numerous forests, of which 

 remains are still in existence. As cultivation has ex- 

 tended, population increased, and with it a greater 

 demand for timber, the old forests have gradually 

 diminished. We still retain the names and traditions 

 of the. New Forest, Dean Forest, Whittlebury, and 

 Salcey Forests; Alice Holt, Woolmer, and Bere 

 Forests ; Wychwood, Hainault, and Epping ; Windsor, 

 Delamere, and Sherwood, in England ; not to mention 

 the old pine forests of Scotland, and others, north and 

 south, of which the names alone are left. 



Caesar says, " what the Britons call a town, is a 

 tract of woody country, surrounded by a high bank 

 and a ditch, for the security of themselves and cattle 

 against the incursions of their enemies ; " and Strabo 

 remarks that " the forests of the Britons are their 

 cities ; for when they have inclosed a very large circuit 

 with felled trees, they build within it houses for them- 

 selves, and hovels for their cattle." Thus the early 

 records of the Briton associate him with a love for 

 trees and woods. 



Gradually, but continually, during the past thousand 

 years, the original forests have diminished ; partly to 

 furnish timber for houses and ships, partly being en- 

 closed and brought under cultivation, but chiefly to 

 meet the wants of a rapidly increasing population. 



