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sea-strength of England surmounted all it had ever before had to pretend to, and the utmost that its present woods* (at least within any reasonable reach of its arsenals) seem fi now able to support with materials, or its navigation with men; but that portion also of the same, upon which alone Thet may at this day be rightfully said to rest the virtue of the red whole, oppos'd to the no less considerable growths in the y naval strengths of France and Holland.'

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'The utmost that its present woods seem now able to support with materials!' Words pregnant with meaning. Nature herself, while man was content to fight in wooden st ships, imposed a limitation of armaments. The supply of gu timber, so long in its growth, was not inexhaustible ter (unless Admirals and country gentlemen walked abroad with acorns in their pockets †); and the forests had to furnish the merchants as well as Princes with ships. But private as well as Royal demesnes were becoming exhausted, in spite of ancient statutes devised for their Me preservation. Ironworks were the great destroyers of timber; and a statute of Elizabeth had forbidden the creation of any new works within 22 miles of London or ca 14 of the Thames.

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In 1632, the Forests of Dean and Waltham were reported wasted and ruined; work in Chatham and Deptford yards was almost at a standstill, so great was the destitution of timber. Complaints of decay of timber and unauthorised pillage were constant. In 1651, the preservation of the New Forest was recommended as being 'one of the principal magazines of timber for shipping'; and in 1668, 11,000 acres in the Forest of Dean were enclosed specially for the growth of oak.

In 1662, certain queries were addressed to the Royal

*The call of the Navy on the forests of England was dealt with by the 'Quarterly Review' in March 1813, in a review of Hunter's edition of Evelyn's 'Sylva'; April 1818, in a review of Bray's 'Memoirs of Evelyn'; October 1827, in a review of Monteith's 'Forester's Guide and Profitable Planter'; and October 1838, in a review of Loudon's 'Trees and Shrubs of Britain' (ex rel. Dr Nesbit's edition of 'Sylva ').

+ Collingwood wrote in 1805, 'If the country gentlemen do not make it a point to plant oaks wherever they will grow, the time will not be very distant when to keep our Navy we must depend entirely on captures from the enemy. I wish everybody thought on this subject as I do. They would not walk through their farms without a pocketful of acorns to drop in the hedge-sides, and then let them take their chance,'

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Society, at that time beginning its illustrious career, by the Commissioners of the Navy touching the preserving of timber; of which the first was

'Whether it were not advisable that His Majesty might be moved, now there is so great a scarcity of timber for the supply of his Navy, that all his forests, shaws and parks, which lye within 20 miles of the sea or any navigable river, and whose soil shall be found fit for propagating of timber for the service of the Navy, may be planted with oke, elme, hash and beachen tymber, in such manner and proportion as may still consist with His Majesty's benefit and pleasure in his game, and whether the planting of them be not a far greater improvement of those lands than now is made?'

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This and other queries, tending to further the growth of timber fit for shipping, were referred to a Committee. Dr Goddard brought in his thoughts upon the subject, and Dr Merret presented a collection of statutes concerning the same. Mr Winthrop, son of a former Governor of Massachusetts, and himself Governor of Connecticut, advocated utilising the resources resources of the American Plantations; for there was great store of good oak timber for the building of ships, of spruce and fir-trees fit for masts of all sizes for ships of any burthen,' and of that sort of pine which is called pitch-pine, of which of tar and pitch may be made.' Many ships had been built there during the last twenty years; and there were many saw-mills near good harbours and navigable rivers, sufficient though there should be divers ships built at a time,' and 'many good artists for master-workmen and other ordinary workmen,' also caulkers, smiths, and all other necessary trades; and excellent accommodation for any artificers who should be sent out. Everything favoured his plan that ships should be built in America, and freighted with planks, knee-timbers, and masts, the cost not exceeding one-third of the English price.

Mr Evelyn was desired to peruse these papers and to add what he had of his own, digesting the sum of all into one paper against the next meeting.' Which being done, he, on October 15, 1662, delivered A discourse of Forest Trees, and the propagation of Timber in His

His paper is summarised in Birch's History of the Royal Society.'

Majesty's Dominions,' known in its enlarged and published form as 'Sylva.'

The need of the Navy was not difficult to formulate: I well-stocked forests near to navigable rivers, so that timber might be brought at a reasonable expense to the te yards. But it was of almost equal importance to find honest purveyors. It had been necessary to issue & special order forbidding even the members of the Navy Board from trading in naval material.

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In April 1679, Charles II appointed Commissioners, devolving upon them 'the execution of the whole office de of Lord High Admiral.' The time, Pepys thought, was di opportune, for the state of the fleet was most satisfactory. b The gross of the ships, 76 out of 83, were well found, and the residue in a condition of being thoroughly fitted for Fi sea, with sea-stores, and a reserve in magazine. Of the thirty ships ordered by Parliament, eleven were reported newly launched, and 'the remainder (all of them) under an assiduous prosecution upon the stocks.' The experiment proved disastrous, owing to the incompetence of the Commissioners; and in May 1684, Charles resumed control of the Navy, assisted by his brother. An inquiry was ordered in January 1685/6, and discovered a most deplorable degree of calamity.' Only 24 ships were at sea, ' and the remainder greatly out of repair, with a magazine unequal to the occasions of the Navy.' The for Commissioners, after the longest vacation of a Homemarine Peace,' had brought the Navy into a state more deplorable in its ships, and less relievable from its stores' than had happened at the close of the most expenceful war.' As an example of its generally evil plight, Pepys, in his Report to James II, pointed to the miserable state of the thirty ships: 'The greatest part (without having ever yet look'd out of harbour) were let to sink into such distress through decays .. that several of them had been newly reported... to lye in danger of sinking at their very moorings'; and some of them were wholly irrepairable. The time-limit of two years for building had been exceeded; some had taken three, some four years, and one more than five, so that 100l. was demanded by the builders for repairing her keel as she lay upon the stocks. The cause of this calamitous state was 'the det plain omission of the necessary and ordinary cautions

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mus'd for the preserving of new-built ships'; they had not once been graved or brought into dock.

to fam Those who were called on to report proved as inre competent as those reported on. They attributed the state of these ships to hastiness of building, the greenness of the stuff, and the use of East-Country, that is, Baltic, plank. Whereupon a new Commission of Inquiry was appointed; and it was no sooner opened but a solemn conference was held by them at the Office of the Navy on April 17, 1686, with all the eminent masterbuilders in the River of Thames, touching the present condition of this kingdom in reference to Plank for ship-building.' Certain 'Inquiries' were formulated :—

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'First-How far it may be depended on, that England may at this day supply itself with a sufficiency of [Plank], for answering the Occasions both of the Merchants and His Ter Majesty's Service (in the state the Royal Navy thereof now this) without Foreign Help?

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'Resolution :-That it is in no wise to be relied on. Forasmuch as from the want of Plank of our own growth, and consequently the highness of price of what we have, the Shipwrights of this Kingdom (even in our out-ports, as well as in the river of Thames) have been for many years past driven to resort to supplys from Abroad, and are so at this day, to the occasioning their spending of One Hundred loads of forreign for every twenty of English. Besides, were our own stock more, the exclusion of forreign goods would soon render the charge of building insupportable, by raising the price of the Commodity to double what it is, and more, at the pleasure of the seller.

'Second:-From whence is the best Forreign Plank underhstood to be brought?

'Resolution :-Either out of the East-Sea from Dantzick, Quinborow, or Riga of the growth of Poland and Prussia, or from Hambrough, namely, that sort thereof, which is shipt from thence of the growth of Bohemia, distinguished by its Colour, as being much more black than the other, and render'd so (as is said) by its long sobbing [sopping] in the water, during its passage hither.'

The third Inquiry, 'What proportion this forreign plank should bear to English?' was answered in great detail. For vessels of fourscore tuns downwards 'our English plank will (from the nature of the wood) last

longer than any forreign of the same dimensions'; but for ships of 300 tuns upwards 'universal practice shows that the White Crown-plank of Prussia, and the forementioned black of Bohemia, do in their durableness equal or rather exceed that of our English production of like dimensions.' The plain reason of this was,

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'that the forreign oak being of much quicker growth than th ours, their trees arrive at a stature capable of yielding Plank Jem of these measures [3 and 4 inch, from 26 to 40 foot long, meeting at 14 or 15 inches at the top-end], while they are yet in their sound and vigorous state of growing; whereas that of England advancing in its growth more slowly, arrives not at these dimensions, till it be come to or rather is past the full of its strength; 50 years sufficing for raising the forreign, to what the English will not be brought in 150.'*

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East-Indiamen built of large foreign plank proved to be most durable, while ships built wholly of English stuff had perished in half the time. But where short stuff will serve, as 'in laying of a gun-deck, as far as the three streaks next the ship's sides,' English plank, cut out of young growing timber, was to be preferred. Where long plank is necessary, 'that of forreign growth is for strength and duration always preferr'd.' Other defects of English material were pointed out: its'general waniness, want of breadth at the top-end, and ill-method of conversion.' The unanimous opinion of the Commission was that large plank, well chosen, of the forreign growths before mentioned, is in its service at least as durable, in its cost less chargeable, and the use of it (through the scarcity of English) become at this day indispensable.' An Order in Council was thereupon issued (Oct. 8, 1686) authorising the Commissioners of the Navy to contract for oaken plank of foreign growth.

* A Report of the Commissioners of Land Revenue (referred to in the 'Quarterly Review' article of 1838, and probably issued in 1792) gives very different figures: 75 to 100 years as the period at which oaks are usually cut for ship-building. It also furnishes the interesting statistics, that a 74-gun ship contained about 2000 tons of timber, and would require 2000 trees of 75 years', or 250 of 150 years' growth; and, on the basis of 40 trees to the acre, 50 acres of the younger trees would be required to supply the timber for every 74-gun ship.

Mr Dallimore of Kew Gardens is sceptical about the conclusions come to by the Pepys' Commission. The modern books, even Elwes and Henry, and Marshall Ward, throw no light on this question.