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CHAPTER IX.

OF TIMBER.

Timber should be felled from the beginning of the Au-tumn up to that time when the west wind begins to blow;never in the Spring, because at that period the trees areas it were pregnant, and communicate their naturalstrength to the yearly leaves and fruits they shoot forth.Being empty and swelled out, they become, by theirgreat porosity, useless and feeble, just as we see femalesafter conception in indifferent health till the period oftheir bringing forth. Hence slaves about to be soldare not warranted sound if they be pregnant; for thefoetus which goes on increasing in size within the body,derives nourishment from all the food which the parentconsumes, and as the time of delivery approaches, themore unwell is the party by whom it is borne : as soonas the foetus is brought forth, that which was beforeallotted for the nourishment of another being, once morefree by the separation of the foetus, returns to reinvigo-rate the body by the juices flowing to the large and emptyvessels, and to enable it to regain its former naturalstrength and solidity. So, in the Autumn, the fruitsbeing ripened and the leaves dry, the roots draw themoisture from the earth, and the trees are by those meansrecovered and restored to their pristine solidity. Up tothe time above-mentioned the force of the wintry aircompresses and consolidates the timber, and if it be thenfelled the period will be seasonable. In felling, the pro-per way is to cut through at once to the middle of the

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