258 THE FORESTS OP 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 ou'r 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 



