A Difcourfs of Forcft-Trees. p^ 



coal£\iQ\ i and if the main Ocean fhould afford Fwe/, (^s the Ber- 

 ttacles and Solatid-Geefe are faid to do in fome parts of ScotUnd 

 with the veryjiick/ of their Neifs) we in thefe Ijles may thank our 

 felves if we be not warm : Thefe few particulars I have butmen- 

 tion'd to animate Improvements^ and ingenious Attempts of de- 

 tecting more cheap, and \x(Q.i\x\froceJfes^ for ways oicharking-coals. 

 Peat , and the like fuliginous materials 5 as the accomplifh'd 

 M. Boyle has intimated to us in the Fift of thofe his precious Ejfays 

 concerning the ufefulneji oi Natural Philojbphy, Part 2. cap. y.C^c. 

 to which I refer the curious, 



6, By the Preamble of the Statute 7, Ed. 6. one may perceive 

 (the Meafures compar'd) how plentiful Fuel was in the time of 

 Edward the 4th to what it was in the Reigns of his Succejjors : 

 This fuggefted a review of Sizes, and a reformation of Abufes ; 

 in which it was Ena&ed, that every Sack of Coals (hould contain 

 four Bnfiels : Every Talejhide to be four foot long, befides the carfi, 

 ^nd\i nam'doi one, marked one, to contain 16 inches circnmfe- 

 rence, within a foot of the middle : If of two marks, 25 inches , 

 of 3. 28. of 4. 35 ; of 5.38. inches rfi.'w?, and fo proportionably. 



6. Billets were to be of three foot, and four inches in length : 

 thefingletobe 17 inches and an half about; and every ^zZi'e^ of 

 one caji (as they term the mark) to be ten inches about : of two 

 caft, fourteen inches, and to be marked (unlefs for the private 

 ufe of the Owner) within fix inches of the middle .' of one caft 

 within four inches of the end, d^c. 



Every bound Fagot thould be three foot long ; the band twenty 

 four inches circumference, befides the knot. 



In the 43.£/zz,.the fame Statute (^wh'ich before only concern'd 

 London and its Suburbs) was made more univerfal ; and that of 

 Edw. 6. explained with this addition : For fuch Talejhides as were 

 ofnecefllty to be made of cleft -wood, if of one mark, and half 

 round, to be 19 inches about; if quarter-cleft, 18 inches t: Mark- 

 ed two, being round it ftall be 2 3 inches compafs : half-round 2 7 : 

 quarter-cleft 26 : marked three, round 28 : half-round 33 : quar- 

 ter-cleft 32: marked four, being round 33 inches about: half- . 

 round 39 : quarter-cleft 38 : marked five round, 38 inches about : 

 half-round 44: quarter-cleft 43 : the meafure to be taken within 

 half a foot of middle of the length mention'd in the former Statute. 



Then for the £i//ef every one nam'd a f/»g/e ; being round to 

 have 7 inches t circumference ; but no fingle to be made of cleft 

 wood : If marked one, and round, to contain 1 1 inches compafs : 

 if half-round 13 : quarter-cleft \2\. 



If marked two, being round, to contain 16 inches : half- 

 round 19 : quarter-cleft 181 : the length as in the Statute of 

 King Ed. 6. 



7. Fagots to be every ftick of three foot in length, excepting 

 only one ftick of one foot long, to harden and wedge the binding 

 of it : This to prevent the abufe Ctoo much praftis'd) of filling 

 the middle part, and ends with trafii, and (hort flicks, which 

 had been omitted in the former statute : concerning this and of 



P 2 the 



