DEC.] WOODS. 54 P 



There is one circumstance attending the sale, 

 which, to a person unacquainted with the nature of 

 the business, may appear extraordinary ; that of dis- 

 posing of the wood, and receiving the money, with- 

 out the purchaser having any knov\l< dge of the lot he 

 pays for ; this is done to prevent any dispute that 

 might arise from several persons fixing upon the same 

 lot. The purchaser describing to what uses he in- 

 tends converting his wood, is placed by the person 

 who disposes of the parcels, in that part which ap- 

 pears most suitable to his purposes, and the wood- 

 ward having the name of each person prefixed to his 

 lot, is prevented from making mistakes ; this entirely 

 answers the desired intent, and murmurings are sel- 

 dom heard at succeeding sales : sometimes in the 

 month of January the woodward begins cutting the 

 underwood, taking care to leave a sufficient quantity 

 of young thriving plants, either oak or ash, for the 

 purpose of preserving a succession in the stock : the 

 wood consists of two sorts of stores, which are called 

 tellers ; the oldest arc called black barks, and are of 42 

 years growth ; these are felled in the barking season, 

 for the purpose of procuring the bark, and are then 

 carried off with the faggots by the purchaser of the 

 lot; the next are called white barks, and are '28 

 years growth, and remain standing for stores, with a 

 proper quantity of 14 years growth, till the wood is 

 again felled. 



Some of the woods in Herefordshire -are stored in 

 .the same way, and some are felled at 20 years growth ; 

 some are cut at 1 5, when the wood is compU 

 'died, and the poles used as hop-poles, which in that 



x n '4 countv 



