'"
[5] Evelyn passed much of his time in planting; and his _Sylva,
or a Discourse on Forest Trees_, is one of the most valuable
works in the whole compass of English literature. He describes
himself as "borne at _Wotton_, among the woods," situate about
four miles from Dorking, in a fine valley leading to Leith Hill.
In book iii. chap. 7, of his _Sylva_, he says, "To give an
instance of what store of woods and timber of prodigious size
were grown in our little county of Surrey, my own grandfather
had standing at Wotton, and about that estate, timber that now
were worth L100,000. Since of what was left my father (who was
a great preserver of wood) there has been L30,000. worth of
limber fallen by the axe, and the fury of the hurricane in 1703,
by which upwards of 1,000 trees were blown down. Now, no more
Wotton! stript and naked, and ashamed almost to own its name."
The Wotton woods are still flourishing, and within the last
fourteen years we have passed many delightful days beneath their
shade.
Pages:
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40