offorest-trees. 181

1 Twi%s of themselves never rife straight and high , Cha r.Il

And T) nder-woods are bow’d as first they shoot.

Then prime the Boughs, and Suckers from the Root‘Discharge. The leavy Wood fond Pity tires.

After, when with tall Rods the Tree aspires,

And the round Staves to Heaven advance their Twigs,

Thick all the Buds , and strip off all the Sprigs :

These I (sues vent what Moisture still abound,

And the Veins unemployed grow hard and found. W a se.

a. For’tis a Misery to see how our fairest Trees are defaced andmangled by unskilful Wood-men, and mischievous Bordurers , who goalways armed with short Hand-bills , hacking and chopping off all thatcomes in their Way • by which our Trees are made full of Knots,

Stubs,Boils, Cankers, and deformed Bunches, to their utter Destructi-on : Good Husbands should be ashamed of it ; though I would have noWood-man pretend to be without all his necessary Furniture , when hegoes about this Work ; which I (once for all) reckon to be the Hand-bill, Hatchet, Hook, Hand-saw , an excellent Truning-knife , broadChizel and Mallet, all made of the best Steel and kept sharp; andthus he is provided for greater, or more gentle Executions, Turga-t ions , Recistons and Coercions ; and it is of main Concern, that the pro-per and effectual Tool be applied to every Work, since heavy and rudeInstruments do but mangle, and bruise tender Plants', and it they betoo small, they cannot make clear and even Work upon great Armsand Branches: The Knife is for Twigs and Spray ; the Chizel forlarger Arms , and such Amputations as the Ax and Bill cannot welloperate upon. As much to be reprehended are those who either begin,this Work at unseasonable Times, or so maim the poor Branches, thateither out of Laziness, or want of Skill, they leave most of them Stubs,and instead of cutting the Arms and Branches close to the Bole, hackthem off a Foot or two from the Body of the Tree , by which Meansthey become hollow and rotten, and are as so many Conduits to receivethe Rain and the Weather , which conveys the Wet to the very Ma-trix and Heart, deforming the whole Tree with many ugly Botches ,which shorten its Life, and utterly mars the Timber : I know Sir H. Tlasttells us, the Elm should be so lopped, but he says it not of his ownExperience as I do. And here it is that 1 am (once for all) to warn ourdisorderly Husband-men from coveting to let their Lops grow to an ex-traordinary Size before they take them off, as conceiving it furnishesthem with the more Wood for the Fire ; not considering how such gafh-ly Wounds mortally affect the whole Body of xhzTree, or at least doesso decay their Vigour, that they hereby lose more in one Tear than theLop amounts to, should they pare them off sooner, and when the Scarsmight be covered : In the mean while, that young Oaks prosper muchin Growth, by timely Pruning, the industrious Mr. Cooke observes ;

» Nunquamsponte sua procerus ad aera termesExiir, inque ipsa curvantur sti,-pe „ enist;EErgo age limiriam primo fbetusque noceriteisDetrahe. Frondosas gravat indulgentia silvas.

Post ubi proceris generosa stirpibus arborSe dederit, tereteique ferent ad sidera virgæ,

Stringe notas circum, & gemmanteis exige versus.

His, il quis vitium nociturus sufficit humor,

Visceribus fluit, Sc yenas durabit inertes.

Gra. Fal. Cyruget,

L %

whereas