43 



of the occupation List mentioned, and flowed even to fnlness, 

 so we may hope, that the knowledge of wood will ere long 

 have its turn. Who, the most speculative, forty years since, 

 could have anticij)ated, that the pedigree, form, and fat of 

 sheep and bullocks shouki, in the present day, have become 

 an interesting study with the gay and the fashionable? 

 By a revolution in things as unexpected, we may conceive 

 it possible, that a little botany and vegetable physiology, 

 together with a thorough acquaintance with planting and 

 arboriculture, may at length engage the attention of those, 

 who are most interested in their success. Probably it will be 

 found that no nobleman or gentleman will make a w'orse 

 sportsman, a less scientific farmer, or a less successful cattle- 

 dealer, for having some conversancy with wood, or being able 

 to detect the ignorance of his own gardener or forester ; and, 

 should a knowledge of painting, or the principles of land- 

 scape be added, their elegant and attractive character will 

 surely not derogate from these more popular acquirements. 



Trees are, without doubt, the most beautiful objects that 

 adorn the surface of the earth. They are nearly the most 

 important production of the vegetable kingdom to civilized 

 man. Without trees, the mountains and the plains, the 

 lakes and the rivers would want their brightest ornament ; 

 and without them also, the most useful and the most elegant 

 arts would be destitute of materials. Nature, in the begin- 

 ning, bountifully supplied the earth with trees and forests ; 

 but a large proportion was necessarily cleared away, to admit 

 of the cultivation of the earth. In process of time, as the 

 wants of men multiplied, forests were cut down, and industry 

 became indispensable, in order to furnish a supply. Hence, 

 the planting and rearing of wood and timber-trees for that 

 purpose, is one of the most important arts which can excite 

 the attention and exercise the skill of a polished nation, and 

 one especially, whose existence may be said to depend on the 

 paramount superiority of its naval force. 



