The Story of our English Woodlands. 5 1 



importance, on account of our Navy, that timber should be 

 available as solid and stout as artificial means could effect. 

 The historian and naturalist Dr. Plot quoted the opinion of 

 Caesar that though ships might be made of moist timber 

 felled in the spring, yet they would certainly be slugs, and 

 not near such good sailers as ships made of timber felled later 

 in the year. Plot further cited, as an instance in point, the 

 Royal Sovereign., an old warship, which was said to have been 

 entirely constructed of winter-felled oak, and which afforded 

 ocular proof of her stoutness to any one who cared to go and 

 try to hammer a nail into one of her planks. 



He also wrote a letter intended to have been presented to 

 James II., in which he called his Majesty's attention to the 

 advantages of felling timber, after the Staffordshire fashion, 

 for the use of the Navy. " I immediately " (he says) " waited 

 upon Mr. Secretary Pepys and Sir Anthon}^ Deane, and com- 

 municated the matter to them, who both promised me they 

 would acquaint your Majesty I had so done, and give your 

 Majesty an account of their present thoughts of it ; but the 

 former, viz., Mr. Secretary Pepys, received so strong an im- 

 pression of the usefulness of the experiment, and thought 

 it, after consideration, of that importance, that he desired 

 me, the day following, to consider this subject, and see what 

 might be added to what I had already written in my History 

 of Staffordshire relating to it, and what material objections I 

 made, why this custom of Staffordshire and the neighbouring 

 counties might not be practised here, in the south of England 

 as well as there ; and to put all into writing for your Majesty's 

 use." ■■ 



He goes on to say that in the former district the oak was 

 barked in the spring, when the sap was flowing, and the 

 branches budding, though not felled till the following winter ; 

 but in the latter district it was felled in the spring and barked 

 immediately afterwards. 



Plot asserts that trees in the spring are pregnant, and spend 

 themselves in the production of leaves and fruits. Under this 



^ GtntUmmi'ii Magaztae, April, 1778. 



