woo 
four or five feet high •, and one old plant which came, 
from Barbadoes leveral years fince, is more than twelve 
feet high, but has not yet produced any flowers. 
Thefe plants require to be plunged into a tan-bed in 
the ftove, and in winter (hould be fparingly watered, 
but in furnmer they (hould have it in greater plenty ; 
when alfo they (hould have a good fhare of air admit- 
ted to them when the weather is warm. With this 
management the plants may be preferved very well, 
but they are difficult to propagate •, for I have laid 
down many of their under branches into the earth, 
but not one in twelve has put out roots : I have alfo 
planted cuttings with as little fuccefs •, fo that the 
fureft method is to procure frefh feeds from America. 
WOODS and groves are the greateft ornaments to a 
country feat, therefore every feat is greatly defective' 
without them •, Wood and" water being abfolutely ; 
neceffary to render a place agreeable and pleafant. 
Where there are Woods already grown to a large fize, 
fo fituated as to be taken into the garden or park, or 
fo nearly adjoining, as that an eafy communication may 
be made from the garden to the wood ; they may be 
fo contrived by cutting of winding walks through 
them, as to render them the mod delightful and 
pleafant parts of a feat (efpecially in the heat of dim- 
mer), when thofe walks afford a goodly (hade from 
the fcorching heat of the fun. 
As I have already treated of the ufe and beauty of 
wilderneffes, and have given directions for the making 
and planting of them, I (hall not enlarge much upon 
that head in this place •, therefore I (hall only give 
fome (hart inftrudtions, for the cutting and making 
of thefe Wood walks in thofe places where perfons are 
fo happy as to have any grown Woods, fo fituated as 
to be near the habitation, and are either taken into 
the gardeh, or walks made from the houfe or garden, 
leading to them ; as alfo how to plant and decorate 
the fides of thefe walks with ffirubs and flowers, fo 
as to render them agreeable and pleafant ; and then I 
(hall more fully treat of the method to raife and im- 
prove Woods, fo as to be of the greateft advantage to 
the poffeffor, and a public benefit to the nation. 
Where perfons have the convenience of grown Woods 
near their habitation, fo as that there may be an eafy 
communication from one to the other, there will be 
little occafion for wilderneffes in the garden •, fince 
the natural Woods may be fo contrived as to render 
them much pleafanter than any new plantation can pof- 
fibly arrive to within the compafs of twenty years, 
where the trees make the greateft progrefs in their 
growth •, and in fuch places where their growth is (low, 
there cannot be expected (hade equal to the grown 
Woods, in double that number of years •, but there is 
not only the pleafure of enjoying a prefent (hade from 
thefe Woods, but alfo a great expence faved in the 
planting of Wilderneffes ; which, if they are large, and 
the trees to be purchafed, will amount to no (mail fum. 
If the Wood is fo fituated, as that the garden may be 
contrived between the houfe and, that, then the walk 
into the Wood (hould be made as near to the houfe as 
poffible, that there may not be too much open (pace 
to walk through in order to get into the (hade ; if the 
Wood is of fmall extent, then there will be a neceffity 
for twifting the walks pretty much, fo as to make as 
much walking as the compafs of ground will admit ; 
but there (hould be care taken not to bring the, turns 
fo near each other, as that the tv/o walks may.be ex- 
pofed to each other, for want of a fufficient thicknefs 
of Wood between •, but where the Wood is large, the 
twifts of the walks (hould not approach nearer to each 
other than fifty or fixty feet ; or in very large Woods, 
they (hould be at a greater diftance *, becaufe, when 
the under Wood is cut down, which” will be abfolutely 
neceffary every tenth or twelfth year, according to its 
growth, then the walks will be quite open, until tue 
under Wood grows up again, unlefs a border of 
ffirubs, intermixed with fome evergreens, is planted 
by the Tides of the Walks, which is what I would re- 
commend, as this will greatly add to the pleafure of 
thefe walks. 
WOO 
Thefe Wood-walks (hould not be lefts than eight or 
nine feet broad in fmall Woods •, but in large ones fif- 
teen feet will not be too much, and on each fide of 
the Walks. The border of ffirubs and evergreens 
may be nine or ten feet broad ; which may be fo ma- 
naged, as to (hut out the view from one part of the 
walk to the other, at thofe times when the under 
Wood is cut down, at which times there will be an 
abfolute occafion for fuch plantations ; and at all 
times they will afford great pleafure, by adding to the 
Variety, as alfo by their fragrant odour. The parti- 
cular forts of ffirubs which will thrive in the (hade. of 
Woods, as alfo the flowers proper to plant near thefe 
walks, are menrioned in feparate lifts, at the end of 
this work, fo I (hall not infert them in this place. 
The former method which was pradifed in cutting of 
thefe walks through Woods, was to have them as 
ftrait as poffible, fo that there was much trouble to 
make fights through the Woods, fordiredion hew to 
cut them ; but where this was pradifed, every tree 
which ftood in the line, good and bad, were cut 
down, and many times boggy or bad ground was 
taken into the walks *, fo that an expence of draining 
and levelling, was neceffary to render them proper for 
walking on ; befides this, there were many other in- 
conveniences attending thefe ftrait cuts through 
Woods, as, firft, by letting in a great draught of air, 
which in windy weather renders the walks unpleafant 
and thefe cuts will alfo appear at a great diftance from 
the Woods, which will have a very bad effed there- 
fore the modern pradice of twifting the walks through 
Vftoods, is to be preferred. In the cutting of thefe 
walks, there fhould be particular care taken to lead 
them over the fmootheft and founded part of the 
ground, as alfo to avoid cutting down the good trees •„ 
fo that whenever thefe (tana in the wav, it will be bet- 
ter to lead the walk on one fide, than to have the 
tree (land in the middle ; for although fome perfons 
may contend for the beauty of fuch trees which are 
left (landing in walks, yet it muft be allowed, that un- 
lefs the walk is made much broader in thofe places 
than in the other, the trees will occafion obftmdions 
to the walkers, efpecially when two or three perfons 
are walking together, fo that it will be much better 
to have the walks entirely clear from trees •, and where 
any large-fpreading trees (land near the walk, to cut 
away the fmall Wood, fo as to make an opening round 
the trees, where there may be fome feats placed, for 
perfons to reft under the (hade. The turns made in 
thefe walks (hould be as eafy and natural as poffi- 
ble ; nor (hould there be too many of them, for that 
will render the walking through them difagreeable 
therefore the great (kill in making of thefe walks 
is, to make the turns fo eafy as not to appear like 
a work of art, nor to extend them ftrait to » fo 
great length, as that perfons who may be walking at 
a great diftance, may be expofed to the fight of each 
other 5 both thefe extremes (hould be avoided as much 
as poffible, fince they are equally difagreeable to per- 
fons of true tafte. When a Wood is properly ma- 
naged in this way, and a few places properly left like 
an open grove, where there are fome large trees fo fi- 
tuated as to form them, there can be no greater orna- 
ment to a fine feat than fuch a Wood. 
We (hall now treat of the culture of Woods for profit 
to the poffeffor, and for the public benefit of the nation. 
The great deftrudion of the Woods and forefts which 
has been of late years made in this country, (hould 
alarm every perfon who wiflies well to it •, fince there 
is nothing which feems more fatally to threaten a 
weakening, if not a difiblution, of the ftrength of 
this once famous and flourifhing nation, than the no- 
torious decay of its timber ; and as this devaftaticn 
has fpread through every part of the country, fo un- 
lefs fome expedient be ferioufl-y and fpeedily refolved 
on, to put a (lop to this deftrudlion of the timber, and 
alfo for the future increafe of it,, one of the m oft glo- 
rious bulwarks of this nation will, in a tew years,, be 
wanting to it. 
And 
