PART VIII. PICTURESQUE PLANTING. 581 



growth, than to let it stand for navy timber to eighty or a hun- 

 dred, owing to the low price that is now paid for oak trees of 

 large dimensions, either by the Navy Board or the East India 

 Company/ For this reason, he recommends the making a 

 much greater than ordinary increase of price on timber of a 

 large scantling, viz. that ' in place of four or five pounds per 

 load, if they would give eight or nine pounds per load for trees 

 containing each one hundred cubic feet and upwards, every 

 man in the kingdom would have a reasonable motive for letting 

 his timber stand till it became of a size lit for the use of the 

 navy; whereas, according to the present established price, it is 

 every man s interest to cut down his trees before they arrive at 

 a proper size to be useful as navy timber/ This points out, in 

 the strongest manner, the necessity of attending to the Royal 

 forests * for, unless this be done, or such a price given for large 

 timber as his Lordship mentions, it is evident that oak proper 

 for ship-building, which is already very scarce, will be com- 

 pletely exhausted in a very short time*/' — And perhaps it 

 may be an additional incitement to try the mode recommended 

 for cultivating the larch in the royal forests, and training it for 

 ship timber. See Chap. II. Sect. 2. 



Donaldson's Modern Agriculture, Vol. IV. p. 2S. 



