( 40. ) 



oV common field hiifb.indry univerfally prevailed. 

 Though ihefe crowded lituations mi||,ht no duubt 



be 



cdnfiderable number oF cattle fall vidtims ; and the lofs faftaiiied by the owners not 

 only deprives them of any profit or emolumenc frum thoi'e that are fortunate e- 

 nongli to furvive tlie malady, but prevents their deriving any advantage from the com- 

 monage that year, and probably for many years- to come. Such ire rhe incimvtnien- 

 ces wliich mult ever attend property lield under a mixuu-e of interefts, fo extremely ini- 

 mical to each other as thofe of the commoner and the proprietor of the timber and un- 

 derwood arc, in woods of this nature. Can there, at this time, be a fubjeft to which the 

 wirdom of the Legiflature ought more fpeedily to be direded ? Ihe great and alarm- 

 ing decreafe of oak timber in this country is univerfally acknowledged and lament- 

 ed by^ every individual ; and it is prefumed there is not a Briton but who muft be fen- 

 fible how much that invaluable article tends, at this moment, to the prefervation 

 and defence of his country, againft a neighbouring nation, frantic with zeal to pro- 

 pagate their diabolical fyflems throughout the civilized world. Thole who are in the 

 habit of managing woods, no doubt feel a very fenfi&le refpeft for fo fine and venerable 

 a produftion of nature as that of an oak tree arrived at its full perfetlion, both in fize 

 and growth ; it is truly a living monument of tlie works of the Creator ; and no one 

 can direft the fatal axe to be applied to its root, without reflefting that he is about, in 

 a few minutes, to deftroy what whole ages have been employed in producing ; but it 

 would, it is conceived, be feme conlolation to fuch a perlon, could he difcover in look- 

 ing round this venerable trunk, fome companions left to furvive its lofs, and who, in a 

 young and thriving ftate, might receive additional vigour by the removal of their neigh- 

 bour. But this, alas ! in the prefent ftate of things, is a confolation that cannot be ob- 

 tained ; for it mull be next to a miracle indeed, if a young oak lapsing efcapes the nu- 

 merous enemies to which it is expofed in ils infancy. And if the fyllem now praftiled 

 in thefe woods, with regard to cutting down all fuch timber trees as appear mature, 

 and in an unthriving ftate, is long purfued, the r«lult muft be, that in a very few years, 

 there will not be a lingle oak tree large enough for the ufe of his Majefty's navy left 

 in them. 



It is prefumed, the fame fadls and circumftances here ftated, will apply to many thou- 

 fand acres ot woodland in this county, as well as to many very confiderable trafls of 

 the fime defcription in the kingdom. Muft it not then be a ferious, important, and 

 very lamentable refleftion to the mind of every man who willies for the prefervation 

 of his country, that the Legiflature do not immediately take fome adive and efTeftual 

 meafures to avert tlie impending evil that mult othcrwife inevitably take place ? 

 Before thofe advantages that will attend an improved iyftem of management in ihe 

 foreft and chafe woods are enumerated, it will be necelTary to take the liberty of lug- 

 gefting the mode by which they may be attained. An iiiclofure of all the open field 

 pariftics having a commonage in the woods, muft undoubtedly be the firft and princi- 

 pal 



