[Sidenote: Great abundance of wood sometime in England.]
It should séeme by ancient records, and the testimonie of sundrie
authors, that the whole countries of Lhoegres and Cambria, now England
and Wales, haue sometimes béene verie well replenished with great
woods & groues, although at this time the said commoditie be not a
little decaied in both, and in such wise that a man shall oft ride ten
or twentie miles in ech of them, and find verie little or rather none
at all, except it be néere vnto townes, gentlemens houses, & villages,
where the inhabitants haue planted a few elmes, okes, hazels, or ashes
about their dwellings for their defense from the rough winds, and
keeping of the stormie weather from annoiance of the same. This
scarsitie at the first grew (as it is thought) either by the industrie
of man, for maintenance of tillage (as we vnderstand the like to be
doone of late by the Spaniards in the west Indies, where they fired
whole woods of verie great compasse therby to come by ground whereon
to sow their graines) or else thorough the couetousnesse of such, as
in preferring of pasture for their shéepe and greater cattell, doo
make small account of firebote and timber: or finallie by the crueltie
of the enimies, whereof we haue sundrie examples declared in our
histories. Howbeit where the rocks and quarrie grounds are, I take the
swart of the earth to be so thin, that no tree of anie greatnesse,
other than shrubs and bushes, is able to grow or prosper long therein
for want of sufficient moisture wherewith to feed them with fresh
humour, or at the leastwise of mould, to shrowd, staie vpright, and
cherish the same in the blustering winters weather, till they may grow
vnto anie greatnesse, and spread or yéeld their rootes downe right
into the soile about them: and this either is or may be one other
cause, wherefore some places are naturallie void of wood. But to
procéed. Although I must needs confesse that there is good store of
great wood or timber here and there, euen now in some places of
England, yet in our daies it is far vnlike to that plentie, which our
ancestors haue séene heretofore, when statelie building was lesse in
vse. For albeit that there were then greater number of mesuages and
mansions almost in euerie place; yet were their frames so slight and
slender, that one meane dwelling house in our time is able to
counteruaile verie manie of them, if you consider the present charge
with the plentie of timber that we bestow vpon them. In times past men
were contented to dwell in houses, builded of sallow, willow,
plumtree, hardbeame, and elme, so that the vse of oke was in maner
dedicated wholie vnto churches, religious houses, princes palaces,
noblemens lodgings, & nauigation: but now all these are reiected, and
[Sidenote: Desire of much wealth and ease abateth manhood,
& ouerthroweth a manlie courage.]
nothing but oke anie whit regarded. And yet sée the change, for when
our houses were builded of willow, then had we oken men; but now that
our houses are come to be made of oke, our men are not onlie become
willow, but a great manie through Persian delicacie crept in among vs
altogither of straw, which is a sore alteration. In those the courage
of the owner was a sufficient defense to kéepe the house in safetie,
but now the assurance of the timber, double doores, lockes and bolts
must defend the man from robbing. Now haue we manie chimnies and yet
our tenderlings complaine of rheumes, catarhs and poses. Then had we
none but reredosses, and our heads did neuer ake. For as the smoke in
those daies was supposed to be a sufficient hardning for the timber of
the house; so it was reputed a far better medicine to kéepe the good
man and his familie from the quacke or pose, wherewith as then verie
few were oft acquainted.
Of the curiousnesse of these piles I speake not, sith our workemen are
growne generallie to such an excellencie of deuise in the frames now
made, that they farre passe the finest of the old. And such is their
husbandrie in dealing with their timber, that the same stuffe which in
time past was reiected as crooked, vnprofitable, and to no vse but the
fire, dooth now come in the fronts and best part of the worke. Wherby
the common saieng is likewise in these daies verified in our mansion
houses, which earst was said onelie of the timber for ships, that no
oke can grow so crooked but it falleth out to some vse, & that
necessarie in the nauie. It is a world to sée moreouer how diuerse men
being bent to building, and hauing a delectable veine in spending of
their goods by that trade, doo dailie imagine new deuises of their
owne to guide their workemen withall, and those more curious and
excellent alwaies than the former. In the procéeding also of their
workes, how they set vp, how they pull downe, how they inlarge, how
they restreine, how they ad to, how they take from, whereby their
heads are neuer idle, their purses neuer shut, nor their bookes of
account neuer made perfect.
"Destruunt, ædificant, mutant quadrata rotundis"
saith the poet. So that if a man should well consider of all the od
crotchets in such a builders braine, he would thinke his head to haue
euen inough of those affaires onelie, & therefore iudge that he should
not well be able to deale in anie other. But such commonlie are our
workemasters, that they haue beside this veine afore mentioned, either
great charge of merchandizes, little lesse businesse in the
commonwealth, or finallie no small dealings otherwise incident vnto
them, wherby gaine ariseth, and some trouble oft among withall. Which
causeth me to wonder not a little how they can plaie the parts so well
of so manie sundrie men, whereas diuerse other of greater forecast in
apparance can seldome shift well or thriue in anie one of them. But to
our purpose.
We haue manie woods, forrests, and parks, which cherish trées
abundantlie, although in the woodland countries there is almost no
hedge that hath not some store of the greatest sort, beside infinit
numbers of hedgerowes, groues, and springs, that are mainteined of
purpose for the building and prouision of such owners as doo possesse
the same. Howbeit as euerie soile dooth not beare all kinds of wood,
so there is not anie wood, parke, hedgerow, groue, or forrest, that is
not mixed with diuerse, as oke, ash, hasell, hawthorne, birch, béech,
hardbeame, hull, sorfe, quicken aspe, poplers, wild cherie, and such
like, wherof oke hath alwaies the preheminence, as most méet for
building and the nauie, whervnto it is reserued. This tree bringeth
foorth also a profitable kind of mast, whereby such as dwell néere
vnto the aforesaid places doo cherish and bring vp innumerable heards
of swine. In time of plentie of this mast, our red and fallow déere
will not let to participat thereof with our hogs, more than our nete:
yea our common pultrie also if they may come vnto them. But as this
[Sidenote: The like haue I séene where hens doo féed vpon the tender
blades of garlike.]
abundance dooth prooue verie pernicious vnto the first, so these egs
which these latter doo bring foorth (beside blackenesse in color and
bitternesse of tast) haue not seldome beene found to bréed diuerse
diseases vnto such persons as haue eaten of the same. I might ad in
like sort the profit insuing by the barke of this wood, whereof our
tanners haue great vse in dressing of leather, and which they buie
yearelie in Maie by the fadame, as I haue oft séene: but it shall not
néed at this time to enter into anie such discourse, onlie this I
wish, that our sole and vpper leathering may haue their due time, and
not be hasted on by extraordinarie slights, as with ash, barke, &c.
Whereby as I grant that it séemeth outwardlie to be verie thicke &
well doone: so if you respect the sadnes thereof, it dooth prooue in
the end to be verie hollow & not able to hold out water. Neuerthelesse
we haue good lawes for redresse of this enormitie, but it c[=o]meth to
passe in these as in the execution of most penall statutes. For the
gaines to be gotten by the same being giuen to one or two hungrie and
vnthriftie persons, they make a shew of great reformation at the
first, & for a litle while, till they find that following of sute in
law against the offendors is somwhat too chargeable and tedious. This
therefore perceiued, they giue ouer the law, and fall to the admission
of gifts and rewards to winke at things past, and when they haue once
gone ouer their ground with this kind of tillage, then doo they tender
licences, and offer large dispensations vnto him that shall aske the
same, thereby to doo what him listeth in his trade for an yearelie
pension, whereby the bribour now groweth to some certeine reuenues, &
the tanner to so great libertie that his lether is much worse than
before. But is not this a mockerie of our lawes, & manifest illusion
of the good subiect whom they thus pill & poll? Of all oke growing in
England the parke oke is the softest, and far more spalt and brickle
than the hedge oke. And of all in Essex, that growing in Bardfield
parke is the finest for ioiners craft: for oftentimes haue I seene of
their workes made of that oke so fine and faire, as most of the
wainescot that is brought hither out of Danske, for our wainescot is
not made in England. Yet diuerse haue assaied to deale without okes to
that end, but not with so good successe as they haue hoped, bicause
the ab or iuice will not so soone be remoued and cleane drawne out,
which some attribute to want of time in the salt water. Neuerthelesse
in building, so well the hedge as the parke oke go all one waie, and
neuer so much hath beene spent in a hundred years before, as is in ten
yeare of our time; for euerie man almost is a builder, and he that
hath bought any small parcell of ground, be it neuer so little, will
not be quiet till he haue pulled downe the old house (if anie were
there standing) and set vp a new after his owne deuise. But wherevnto
will this curiositie come?
Of elme we haue great store in euerie high waie and elsewhere, yet
haue I not séene thereof anie togither in woods or forrests, but where
they haue béene first planted and then suffered to spread at their
owne willes. Yet haue I knowen great woods of béech and hasell in
manie places, especiallie in Barkeshire, Oxfordshire, and
Buckinghamshire, where they are greatlie cherished, & conuerted to
sundrie vses by such as dwell about them. Of all the elms that euer I
saw, those in the south side of Douer court, in Essex néere Harwich
are the most notable, for they grow (I meane) in crooked maner, that
they are almost apt for nothing else but nauie timber, great
ordinance, and béetels: and such thereto is their naturall qualitie,
that being vsed in the said behalfe, they continue longer, and more
long than anie the like trées in whatsoeuer parcell else of this land,
without cuphar, shaking, or cleauing, as I find.
Ash commeth vp euerie where of it selfe, and with euerie kind of wood.
And as we haue verie great plentie and no lesse vse of these in our
husbandrie, so are we not without the plane, the vgh, the sorfe, the
chestnut, the line, the blacke cherrie, and such like. And although
that we inioy them not in so great plentie now in most places, as in
times past, or the other afore remembred: yet haue we sufficient of
them all for our necessarie turnes and vses, especiallie of vgh; as
may be séene betwixt Rotheram and Sheffield, and some stéeds of Kent
also, as I haue béene informed.
The firre, frankincense, and pine, we doo not altogither want,
especiallie the firre, whereof we haue some store in Chatleie moore in
Darbishire, Shropshire, Andernesse, and a mosse néere Manchester, not
far from Leircesters house: although that in time past not onelie all
Lancastershire, but a great part of the coast betwéene Chester and the
Solme were well stored. As for the frankincense and pine, they haue
béene planted onelie in colleges and cloisters, by the cleargie and
religious heretofore. Wherefore (in mine opinion) we may rather saie
that we want them altogither: for except they grew naturallie, and not
by force, I sée no cause whie they should be accounted for parcell of
our commodities. We haue also the aspe, whereof our fletchers make
their arrowes. The seuerall kinds of poplars of our turners haue great
vse for bolles, treies, troughs, dishes, &c. Also the alder, whose
barke is not vnprofitable to die blacke withall, and therfore much
vsed by our countrie wiues in colouring their knit hosen. I might here
take occasion to speake of the great sales yéerelie made of wood,
whereby an infinit quantitie hath bin destroied within these few
yéers: but I giue ouer to trauell in this behalfe. Howbeit thus much I
dare affirme, that if woods go so fast to decaie in the next hundred
yeere of Grace, as they haue doone and are like to doo in this,
sometimes for increase of sheepwalks, and some maintenance of
prodigalitie and pompe (for I haue knowne a well burnished gentleman
[Sidenote: * This gentleman caught such an heate with this sore
loade that he was faine to go to Rome for physicke, yet it
could not saue his life, but hée must néeds die homewards.]
[*] that hath borne threescore at once in one paire of galigascons to
shew his strength and brauerie) it is to be feared that the fennie
bote, broome, turffe, gall, heath, firze, brakes, whinnes, ling, dies,
hassacks, flags, straw, sedge, réed, rush, and also seacole will be
good merchandize euen in the citie of London, wherevnto some of them
euen now haue gotten readie passage, and taken vp their innes in the
greatest merchants parlours. A man would thinke that our laws were
able inough to make sufficient prouision for the redresse of this
error & enormitie likelie to insue. But such is the nature of our
countriemen, that as manie laws are made, so they will kéepe none; or
if they be vrged to make answer, they will rather séeke some crooked
construction of them to the increase of their priuat gaine, than yéeld
themselues to be guided by the same for a commonwealth and profit to
their countrie. So that in the end whatsoeuer the law saith we will
haue our willes, whereby the wholesome ordinances of the prince are
contemned, the trauell of the nobilitie & councellors as it were
derided, the common wealth impouerished, & a few onelie inriched by
this peruerse dealing. Thus manie thousand persons doo suffer
hinderance by this their lewd behauiour. Hereby the wholesome laws of
the prince are oft defrauded, and the good meaning magistrate in
consultation about the common wealth vtterlie neglected. I would wish
that I might liue no longer than to sée foure things in this land
reformed, that is: the want of discipline in the church: the couetous
dealing of most of our merchants in the preferment of the commodities
of other countries, and hinderance of their owne: the holding of
faires and markets vpon the sundaie to be abolished and referred to
the wednesdaies: and that euerie man, in whatsoeuer part of the
champaine soile enioieth fortie acres of land, and vpwards, after that
rate, either by frée deed, copie hold, or fee farme, might plant one
acre of wood, or sowe the same with oke mast, hasell, béech, and
sufficient prouision be made that it may be cherished and kept. But I
feare me that I should then liue too long, and so long, that I should
either be wearie of the world, or the world of me; and yet they are
not such things but they may easilie be brought to passe.
Certes euerie small occasion in my time is enough to cut downe a great
wood, and euerie trifle sufficeth to laie infinit acres of corne
ground vnto pasture. As for the taking downe of houses, a small fine
will beare out a great manie. Would to God we might once take example
of the Romans, who in restreint of superfluous grasing, made an exact
limitation, how manie head of cattell ech estate might kéepe, and what
numbers of acres should suffice for that and other purposes. Neither
was wood euer better cherished or mansion houses mainteined, than by
their lawes and statutes. Such also was their care in the maintenance
of nauigation, that it was a great part of the charge of their
consuls, yéerelie to view and looke vnto the hilles whereon great
timber did grow, least their vnnecessarie faults for the satisfaction
of the priuat owner, and his couetous mind might prooue a preiudice
vnto the common wealth, in the hinderance of sufficient stuffe for the
furniture of their nauie. Certes the like hereof is yet obserued in
Venice. Read also I praie you what Suetonius writeth of the consulship
of Bibulus and Cesar. As for the wood that Ancus Martius dedicated
toward the maintenance of the common nauie, I passe it ouer, as hauing
elsewhere remembred it vnto another end. But what doo I meane to
speake of these, sith my purpose is onlie to talke of our owne woods?
Well, take this then for a finall conclusion in woods, that beside
some countries are alreadie driuen to sell their wood by the pound,
which is an heauie report: within these fortie yéeres we shall haue
little great timber growing aboue fortie yéeres old; for it is
commonlie séene that those yoong staddles which we leaue standing at
one & twentie yéeres fall, are vsuallie at the next sale cut downe
without any danger of the statute, and serue for fire bote, if it
please the owner to burne them.
[Sidenote: Marises and fennes.]
Marises and fennie bogges we haue manie in England, though not now so
many as some of the old Roman writers doo specifie, but more in Wales,
if you haue respect vnto the seuerall quantities of the countries.
Howbeit as they are verie profitable in the summer halfe of the yeere,
so are a number of them which lie lowe and néere to great riuers, to
small commoditie in the winter part, as common experience dooth teach.
Yet this I find of manie moores, that in times past they haue béene
harder ground, and sundrie of them well replenished with great woods,
that now are void of bushes. And for example hereof, we may sée the
triall (beside the roots that are dailie found in the déeps of
Monmouth, where turfe is digged, also in Wales, Aburgauennie, and
Merioneth) in sundrie parts of Lancashire, where great store of firre
hath growen in times past, as I said, and the people go vnto this daie
into their fens and marises with long spits, which they dash here and
there vp to the verie cronge into the ground. In which practise, (a
thing commonlie doone in winter) if they happen to smite vpon anie
firre trées which lie there at their whole lengths, or other blocks,
they note the place, and about haruest time, when the ground is at the
driest, they come againe and get them vp, and afterward carieng them
home, applie them to their vses. The like doo they in Shropshire with
the like, which hath beene felled in old time, within 7 miles of
Salop. Some of them foolishlie suppose the same to haue lien there
since Noies floud: and other more fond than the rest, imagine them to
grow euen in the places where they find them, without all
consideration that in times past, the most part, if not all Lhoegres
and Cambria was generallie replenished with wood, which being felled
or ouerthrowne vpon sundrie occasions, was left lieng in some places
still on the ground, and in processe of time became to be quite
ouergrowne with earth and moulds, which moulds wanting their due
sadnesse, are now turned into moorie plots. Wherby it commeth to passe
also, that great plentie of water commeth betwéene the new loose swart
and the old hard earth, that being drawen awaie by ditching and
draines (a thing soone doone if our countrie-men were painfull in that
behalfe) might soone leaue a drie soile to the great lucre and
aduantage of the owner. We find in our histories, that Lincolne was
somtime builded by Lud brother to Cassibelan, who called it Cair
Ludcoit, of the great store of woods that inuironed the same: but now
the commoditie is vtterlie decaied there, so that if Lud were aliue
againe, he would not call it his citie in the wood, but rather his
towne in the plaines: for the wood (as I heare) is wasted altogither
about the same. The hilles called the Peke were in like sort named
Mennith and Orcoit, that is, the wooddie hilles and forrests. But how
much wood is now to be séene in those places, let him that hath béene
there testifie, if he list; for I heare of no such store there as hath
béene in time past by those that trauell that waie. And thus much of
woods and marises, and so far as I can deale with the same.