' Throws ' of Timber. 257 



Within the last thirty 3'ears two large falls of 

 timber have taken place, when the elms especially 

 were thrown wholesale. The old men, however, 

 recall a much greater ' throw,' as the}^ term it, of 

 timber, which occurred twice as long ago. Then 

 before that they have a tradition that a still earlier 

 ' throw ' took place, when the timber chiefly went to 

 the dock3'ards for the building of those wooden walls 

 which held the world at bay. These traditions go 

 back, therefore, some eighty or a hundred years. 

 One field in particular is pointed out where stood 

 a double row or avenue of great oaks leading to 

 nothing but a farmstead of the ordinary sort, of 

 which there is not the slightest record that it ever 

 was any thing but a farmhouse. Now avenues of 

 great oaks are not planted to lead to farmsteads. 

 Besides these, it is said, there were oaks in most of 

 the fields — oaks that have long since disappeared, 

 the prevalent tree being elm. 



While all these ' throws ' of timber have succes- 

 siveh' taken place, no attempt has been made to fill 

 up the gaps ; no planting of acorns, no shielding 

 with rails the young saplings from the ravages of 

 cattle. If a 3'oung tree could struggle up it could ; 

 if not, it perished. At the last two ' throws,' 

 especially, young trees w^hich ought to have been 

 saved were ruthlessly cut down. Yet even now the 

 place is well timbered ; so that it is eas}" to form 

 some idea of the forest-like appearance it must have 

 presented a hundred years ago, when row^s of giant 

 oaks led up to that farmhouse door. 



Then there are archaeological reasons, which it 

 would be out of place to mention, wh}' in very 

 17 



