Ixxii INTRODUCTION 



still that which is found influencing many of our great land- 

 owners. And it is an influence which cannot be indicated in 

 any mere enumeration of the number of trees planted or of 

 acres enclosed as woodlands either for purposes of profit or 

 of ornament. 



Far more is, of course, now known with regard to the 

 physiology and the natural requirements of our forest trees 

 e.g. with reference to soil and situation, demand for light 

 and capacity of enduring shade, etc., than was known in 

 Evelyn's time. Many of his arguments could easily be 

 shown to be wrong, and many of his recommendations could 

 equally easily be proved to be inefficacious and inexpedient, 

 just as old works on Agriculture can no longer be accepted as 

 trustworthy text-books for the teaching of modern farming; 

 because Vegetable Physiology forms the true and scientific 

 basis of both the arts relating to the cultivation of the soil, 

 Agriculture and Forestry; and Vegetable Physiology is a 

 branch of botanical science which is only of comparatively 

 recent growth. 



Many works on Sylviculture or Forestry, on business 

 principles, have appeared in England and Scotland within 

 the last fifteen years, but this new edition of Sylva makes no 

 pretence to belong to such an up-to-date class of works. It 

 is merely a reprint of the last edition that was revised by 

 Evelyn himself; and no notes of any description have been 

 added, such as those to be found in the several editions 

 published by Dr. Hunter. The present reprint is intended 

 for those who love our forests and woodlands and the old 

 trees surviving in parks and chases as links with the distant 

 past ; and it will also, for its own sake, appeal no less strongly 

 to those who love to peruse a classic work, written in the 

 very highly polished and ornate style affected by writers of 

 distinction in the seventeenth century. 



JOHN NISBET. 



