238 THE FORESTS OF ENGLAND. 



culture of different varieties of fir, of the larch, the pine, 

 the sugar-maple, and the oak, with details of appropriate 

 operations for procuring or manufacturing rosin, turpen- 

 tine, potash, and maple sugar, and like notices in regard 

 to the bark of the oak and other trees which can be used 

 in the arts. 



In 1664 appeared a well-known work entitled " Sylva ; 

 or a Discourse on Forest Trees, and the Propagation of 

 Timber in His Majestie's Dominion," by John Evelyn. 

 This work, to which reference has already been made, has 

 secured for its author a fame likely to endure for ages, as 

 it is still great, if not undiminished, after the lapse of 

 centuries : every writer who has occasion to advert to the 

 subject has a word of admiration, or commendation, or 

 liking for John Evelyn, whose Sylva may be classed with 

 Isaac Walton's " Complete Angler," or with Daniel Defoe's 

 "Robinson Crusoe," and other older works which have 

 awakened in susceptible minds an enthusiasm bordering 

 upon passion for the pursuits of which they treat. 



Evelyn was a Fellow of the Royal Society, and eminent in 

 his day as a philosopher and patriot, skilled more particu- 

 larly in natural history and the fine arts; and this has 

 given to his famous work much of its charm. Published 

 first at the time mentioned, it has passed through several 

 editions. 



He quaintly remarks that " men seldom plant trees till 

 they begin to be wise, i.e., till they grow old and find by 

 experience the necessity of it." And, quoting a saying of 

 Socrates to the effect that it is easier to make than to 

 find a good husbandman, he says : " I have often found it 

 so in gardeners ; and so I believe it will hold good in 

 most of our country employments. Country people 

 universally know that all trees consist of roots, stems, 

 boughs, leaves, &c., but can give no account of the species, 

 virtue, or further culture, besides to make a pit or hole, 

 casting and treading in the earth," &c. 



He writes strongly in favour of planting seeds in the 



