Chap.II.
The deuision of vnder-Woods, their sale, and profit.
The deuision of Woods.
Whosoeuer be a Lord or Master of much vnder-wood, which is indéede young spring-wood of all kindes, growing thicke and close together, either from the séede, as is declared in the former Chapter, or from the rootes of former salles, the first being a profit begotten by him selfe, the other a right left by purchase or inheritance, and desire, as it is the dutie of euery vertuous husband, to make his best and most lawfullest profit thereof, hauing not left vnto him any president of former commodity. In this case you shall suruay the whole circuit of your wood, with euery corner and angle there vnto belonging, and then as your abilitie and the quantity of your ground shall afford, you shall deuide your whole wood either into twelue, seauentéene, or one and twenty parts of equall Acres, Roodes, or Rods, and euery yeare you shall sell or take to your owne vse one ofthose parts, so that one following yearely after another, our sales may continue time out of minde, and you shall imploy as you please so much wood euery yeare of either twelue, seauentéene, or one and twenty yeares growth. And in this you shal note that the sale of one and twenty, doth farre excéede that of seauentéene, and that of seauentéene as farre that of twelue: but in this it is quantity, and your necessity that must direct you, and not my demonstration:The valew of vnder-wood.for there be fewe Husbands but know that an Acre of one and twenty yéeres growth, may be worth twenty, nay thirty pounds, that of seauentéene worth eight or ten pounds, and that of twelue, fiue and sixe pounds, according to the goodnesse of the wood, insomuch that the longer a man is able to stay, the greater sure is his profit: but fewell and fence must of necessity be had, and if a man haue but twelue acres of wood, I sée not but he must be forced to take euery yéere one acre for his owne reliefe, and if hée take more, hée must either necessarily spoyle all, or driue himselfe into extreame want in fewe yeares following: and therefore it is méete that euery good husband shape his garment according to his cloath, and onely take plenty where plenty is; yet with this husbandly caution that euer the elder your sale is, the richer it is, as you may perceiue by the well husbanded Woods of many Bishoprickes in this land, which are not cut but at thirtie yeares growth.
Of the sale of vnder-woods.
When you haue made your deuisions according to your quantity, you shall begin your sale at an out-side where cariages may enter without impeachment to the springs you intend not to cut, and a pole or halfe pole according to the quantity of ground, you shall preserue (being next of all to the outmost fence) to repaire the ring fences of your Wood, and to seperate the new sale from the standing Wood: and this amongst Woodwards is called Plash-pole. Then at the latter end of Ianuarie you may begin to cut downe your vnder-wood, and sell it either by acres, roodes, perches, poles, roddes, or dozens, accordingto the quantitie of your earth, or the abilitie of your buyers. And in this sale I cannot set you downe any certaine price, because true iudgement, and the goodnesse of your wood must onely giue you direction, things being euer valewed according to their worth and substance, and this sale or the cutting downe of vnder-wood, you may continue from the latter end of Ianuarie, till midde Aprill, at which time the leafe begins to bud forth, or somewhat longer if necessitie vrge you: the like you may also doe from the beginning of September, at which time the leafe beginnes to shed till the middest of Nouember.
How to cut vnder-woods.
Now for the manner of cutting downe your vnder-woods, although the lawes of the Kingdome shew you what dutie you shall performe therein, what Timber you shall preserue, and how néere each Weauer shall stand one to another, yet I would wish you both for your owne and the Common-wealths sake, to performe somewhat more then that to which you are by law compelled, & therefore you shall giue direction to your wood fallers, that when they shall méete with any faire and straight well growne sapling, Oake, Elme, Ash, or such like, to preserue them, and let them stand still, being of such fit distance one from another, that they may not hinder or trouble each other in their growing, and when you shall finde vpon a cluster many faire Plants or Saplings; you shall view which is the fairest of them all, and it preserue onely, and the rest cut away, that it may prosper the better: also if you finde any faire and well growne fruit Trées, as Peares, Chesnuts, Seruisses, and such like, you shall let them stand and cleare them from the droppings of the taller trées, and you shall finde the profit make you recompence. Now for the generall cutting vp of the wood, you shall cut it about sixe inches aboue the ground, and drawing your strokes vpward, cut the wood slope-wise, for that is best to hasten on the new Spring; and those Weauers or young which you preserue and suffer to growe still, you shall pruneand trimme as you passe by them, cutting away all superfluous branches, twigges, and young spyers, which shall grow either néere vnto the roote, or vpon any part of the boale, which is fit to be preserued for Timber, and if you shall finde that the earth haue by any casualty forsaken the root, and left it bare, which is hurtfull to the growth of the Trée, you shall lay fresh earth vnto it, and ram the same hard and fast about it.
The fencing of salles.
Thus when you haue made an end of cutting downe your sale, and that the wood is cleansed and carried away, and all the loose and scattered stickes raked vp into seuerall heapes, and caried away also; for it is the part of euerie good husband and Woodward, not to sée any wood lye and rot vpon the ground; you shall then with the vnder-wood preserued in the Plash-pole, deuide by a strong hedge this new cut downe sale from the other elder growne wood, and for tenne yéeres, as before is spoken, not suffer any foure-footed beast to come within the same;The Woodwards duty.from which rule you shall learne this lesson, that it is the Woodwards duty euery day to looke ouer all his young Springs, and if by any mischance or negligence cattell shall happen to breake into them (as many times they doe) then shall he not onely driue forth or impound such Cattell, but also suruay how farre and which Plants they haue cropt, and hauing spied them, with his wood Bill, presently cut the Plants so brouzed close by the bottomes of the last shuts, and then they will newly put forth againe, as well as if they had neuer béene hindred: which done, he shall finde out where the cattell brake in; and then mend the same, so well and sufficiently, that it may preuent the like mischiefe. Also if these young springs shall stand néere vnto Forrests or elder Woods, which are full of wilde Deare, and be no purlewes belonging vnto the same, the Woodward then shall neuer walke without a little dogge following him, with which he shall chase such Deare out of his young springs, because it is to be vnderstood, that the brouzing of Deare is as hurtfull to young wood, as that ofany other cattell whatsoeuer. And thus much touching the ordering and gouernment of vnder-woods, with their sales, and the nourishing vp of greater Timber.