ECONOMV AT SEA, 



17: 



CYiing principle?, and of which each part had been often 

 proved in delail before, it could not be expefted to convince 

 tfiofe whofe prelTure of bufinefs, or want of tafte for fuch 

 ftudies, deprived of time, or inclination, or made it too great 

 i labour to attend to its demohftratioh in any other way) I hopes that the 



... , • 1 • 1 • > r n • fuccels of the 



fliall hope now, (ihat my exertions to brmg this plan or Ihip- experimer.t wili 

 building into the notice it deferves, when its fufficiency, accelerate this • 

 flrength and fecurity is,) fupported by aftual and fevere proof, P"'° ' 

 will meet with a fait and candid confideration^ from the di- 

 redlion of our navy, and thofe vvhofe commercial purfuits lead 

 to employ veflels of great burden. 



The chief advantage of this method of (liip-building is, that Econbmlcal ad- 

 it enables the builder to ufe timber of much lef^ coft, and vaftly ^"^f^f f^''' 



■' method of Ihip- 



more eafy to procure, with ftrength and liability fuperior to building, 



the old method, in proportion to the quantity of timber, and cheaper timber, 



• ' . ' ^ more eatily pro- 



to difpenfe with knee timber entirely. cured, may be 



In a national point of view this method is ftill df greater "f^** "^"•, , 

 , ^ r ' , • r ■ I r ,-r . Its national ad - 



benefit; for as it admits ot timber ot nfty years growth to ^j^tages, the 



fupply the place of that of one hundred, not only the foreft forefts could 



lands may be made to produce timber for double the number ^j^^^.^gj^^^^j^Qf 



of fliips for our navy in a given time, but private gentlemen the timber 



would be alfo induced to plant more timber for this purpofe, "J^"^f '"•'^ '1 

 ' _ J r > plan m a given 



from the fuperior proifit they could in this cafe make of their time, more 



plantations, and the hope it would give them of being able ^'""''^'^'r""''^ ^= 

 *^ .-._,,, planted if it was 



to receive the fruits of their labour during their own lives, adopted ; oaks 



which at prefent can only be expefted to be reaped by their P^ ^^^'i y^^"> 



J .' •' * ■' have more fer- 



grand children. viceable timber 



An oak of fifty years growth has alfo a much greater quan- '" proportion 

 .-, c c • u\ .• u ■ •. • .• . •. .y than thofe of 



tUy of lerviceable timber in it, m proportion to its age, than ,qq g^j occu- 



one of an hundred years, and four times the number of them py only one 

 at lead can ftand and flourifti at one time at the fame extent ^^^'j^j ^ 

 of ground ; fo that the public would be benefited by the adop- 

 tion of the plan every way ; for while timber would thus be 

 rendered more plenty, thofe who prepared it for market would 

 alfo obtain a greater profit. 



Hitherto the price of timber for the navy has been attempted The 'carcity of 

 to be kept down by arbitrary regulations, which tended toj^'f *""^„^f. 

 encreafe its fcarcity ; at lafi, notwithflanding every effort, this country ta 

 the price and fcarcity have encreafed fo much that our govern- ''^'''1 '^P^ °^ 

 went have been forced to the expedient ot partly relying on danger of this 

 a foreign country for the continuation of the navy ; and to eipc<li9nt. 

 O 2 depend 



