CHAP, in S Y L V A 37 



" close, substantial and durable " : Upon which he 

 much prefers the timber growing in Tuscany, before 

 that towards the Venetian side, and upper part of the 

 Gulph : And that timber so grown, was in greatest 

 esteem long before Pliny, we have the Spear of 



Agamemnon KX^V av^orp^g eyxoe. IX. A. 1 from a 



tree so expos'd ; and Didymus gives the reason, 



Ta jap lv avifjLty fsaVS he) TrXetov yiyivao/ueva Scutum OTE/oea, Cffc. 



For that being continually weather-beaten, they become 

 hardier and tougher: Otherwise, that which is wind- 

 shaken, never comes to good ; and therefore, when 

 we speak of the climate, 'tis to be understood of 

 valleys rather than hills, and in calm places, than 

 exposed, because they shoot streight and upright. 

 The result of all is, that upon occasion of special 

 timber, there is a very great and considerable differ- 

 ence ; so as some oaken-timber proves manifestly 

 weaker, more spungy, and sooner decaying than 

 other. The like may be affirm'd of ash, and other 

 kinds ; and generally speaking, the close-grain 'd is 

 the stoutest, and most permanent : But of this, let 

 the industrious consult that whole tenth chapter in 

 the second book of Vitruvius, where he expresly 

 treats of this argument, De Abiete supernate & infer- 

 nate, cum Apennini descriptione : Where we note con- 

 cerning oak, that it neither prospers in very hot, nor 

 excessive cold countries ; and therefore there is little 

 good of it to be found in Africa ; or indeed, the 

 lower and most southern parts of Italy (but the 

 Venetians have excellent timber) nor in Denmark, or 

 Norway comparable to ours ; it chiefly affecting a 

 temperate climate, and where they grow naturally in 



1 See what Vossius has written in his Observations on Catullus, p. 204. 

 hulomitus turbo contorquens flamine 



