I The fixteenth Booke of 



will laft a woild of yearcs. Next unto it is that timber which is fallen in the dales andiigns above G 

 rcheaifed. Othcrsaffirme moreoverjthatthc rifing of the Dog ftar would be^confidcred & cho- 

 fen for this purpofc ; for at fuch a time was that timber felled, wiiich ierved for. die (lately hall or 

 pallaccof Moreover, for to have good and profitable timber, the trees would bee 



cut downe that arc of a middle age,for neither young poles nor old runts are fit for durable buil- 

 ding. Furthermore, there bee that hold opinion. That for to have the better timber, the trees 

 fhouldhavcakerfcto the very heart and pith round about, and fo let it ftand an end flill, that all 

 the humor by thatmeanes might run out jbcfore they be overthrowne and laid along. And veri- 

 ly,a wonderful! and miraculous thing is reported in old time,duringthefirft Punickc waragainft 

 the Carthaginians,namely3That all the fbips of that fleet which was condudcd by Generalll?/.- 

 ellrn the high Admirall,werefhot into the lea and under faile, within threefcore daies after that n 

 the timber whereof they were built,was cut downe in the wood. And L. Fifi hath left in writing. 

 That againfl king fT/tf/-*?, there were two hundred and twentic fbips made and furniflied in five 

 and fortie daies after the timber grew. Alfo in the fecond Punicke war,thc Armadowhich Saph 

 cmploied, was fetaflote and bare faile fortie daies after the fall of the timber. See how forcible 

 and effeduall in all things is the feafon & opportunitic of time duly taken,elpecially when need 

 drivcth to make (peed and haffen apace. 



: Ctf/tf thccheefeandonely manof allothers for experience and knowledge in every thing, in 

 >j hisTrcatifeof allkindof timber to be emploied in building, giveththcfc rules following, Make 

 thy prcffing plankeefjKcially of theblack ^Sapine or Hornbeame tree. //^zWjWhenfbever thou 

 33 meaneft to ftotke up either Eliiie,Pinej Walnut tree,or any other whatfoever for timber,lee thou 

 35 dig itoutof thegroundjinthewaneof themoone, and that in theafternoone,andtakcheedin I 

 3' any wife that the wind be not South . Itemy The right feafon to fell a tree for timber, is when the 

 3-» fruit is full ripe. //<?«;,Bcwatein any cafe, thatthou neither draw foorth of the ground, nor yet 

 35 fquare a tree,whcn the dew falleth. And a little after.Bewarc thou meddle not with timber trees 

 3> but cither at the change or full of the Moonc, And in no hand,neither ftorkc it up thenjnor hew 

 >' it hard to the ground.But within foure daies after the full Moone,plucke up trees hardlyjfor that 

 5' is the bcfl time.//fw;jBe well advifed,that thou neiihcrfelljfquare,nor touch with the ax,any tim- 

 3' ber that is blacke,unle{Ie it he dric . And meddle not with it, if cither it be frozcn,or full of deaw. 

 Ttberm the Emperour abovcnamed, obferved likewifc the chaungc of the Moone, for cutting 

 the haire both of head and beard. And yet Varro gave arulc,Thatto prevent baldnefieand 

 the fheddingof hairCjthc Barber fhouldbcfcntfor alwaies after thefiillMoone. K 



But to come againe unto our timber trees.The Larch andFir,both,but theTirefpecially, if 

 they be cut down,bleed a long time aftetjand yeeld abundance of moiff urc. lndeed,thefe twainc 

 of all other bee the talleft,and grow moft {freight and upright.For Maff polcs,2nd crolTe-Sailc- 

 yards in riiips,thcFir or Deale is commended and preferred before all other,forthe fmoothnes 

 and lightneflfe withali. The Larch,the Fir j& the Pmc, iiave this propertie common to them all^ 

 To (Lew the graine of their wood^tunning either parted in foure, forked in twainc, or fingle one 

 by one. For fine Carpentrie and loiners feeling within houfe,the heart of the tree would be clo- 

 ven or rent.Thc quarter timber,or that which runneth with foure graines,isfimply the beft, and 

 more pleafant to be wrought than therefl. They thatbeskilfull woodmen and have experience ^ 

 in timber,wiil foone find at the firff fight the goodneffe of the wood by the very barke.That pare 

 of the Fir tree which groweth next to the carth,is without knots,even and plaine : the fame is laid 

 to foke and feafon in the water, and afterwards the barke is taken off,and fo it commedi to bee 

 called Sapinus. The upper part is knottie and harder than the nether, and theLatines nameit 

 Fuil:crna.In fumme,what tree foever it be,that fide which rcgardeth the North, is more flrong 

 and hard than the other. And generally, the wood of thofe trees that grow in moifl and fliadic 

 places is the worfe :contrariwife,that which commeth from ground cxpofed to the Sunnefhine 

 ismorefaftandmafiie, and withali, cndurethalongtime. And hereupon it is,that at Rome the 

 Fir trees that come from the nether fea fide out of Tufcane,bc in better requefl than thofe from 

 Vcniccfidcjuponthecoaff of the upper fea, ^ M 



Moreover, there is great ods betweenc Fir trees, in regard of diverfe countries and nations 

 where they grow. The bellare thofe of the Alpes and the Apennine hils.Likewife within France 

 there are excellent good Firs upon the mountaines lura and Vogcfus: as alfo in Corfica, Bitby- 

 nia,Pontus, and Macedonia. A worfe kind of them grow in Arcadia and about the mountaines 



nearc 



