1fore go on to collect thoſe Rules which the
moſt approved Ancients have left us in many
and various Places, and to theſe, according to
our Cuſtom, we ſhall add whatever we our
ſelves have deduced from antique Works, or
the Inſtructions of moſt experienced Artificers,
if we happen to know any Thing that may be
ſerviceable to our Purpoſe. And I believe it
will be the beſt Method, following Nature
herſelf, to begin with thoſe Things which were
ſirſt in Uſe among Men in their Buildings;
which, if we miſtake not, were Timber Trees
which they fell'd in the Woods: Though
among Authors, I find, ſome are divided
upon this very Subject. Some will have it,
that Men at firſt dwelt in Caves, and that
they and their Cattle were both ſheltered
under the ſame Roof; and therefore they
believe what Pliny tells us, that one Gellius
Texius was the firſt, that, in Imitation of Na
ture built himſelf a Houſe of Mud. Diodorus
ſays that Veſta, the Daughter of Saturn, was
the firſt that invented Houſes. Euſebius
Pamphilus, an excellent Searcher into Antiqui
ty, tells us from the Teſtimony of the Ancients,
that the Grandſons of Protogenes firſt taught
Men the Building of Houſes, which they
patch'd up of Reeds and Bullruſhes: But to
return to our Subject. The Ancients, then,
and particularly Theophraſtus, inform us, that
moſt Trees, and eſpecially the Fir, the Pitch
tree and the Pine, ought to be cut immediately,
when they begin to put forth their young
Shoots, when through their abundance of Sap
you moſt eaſily ſtrip off the Bark. But that
there are ſome Trees, as the Maple, the Elm,
the Aſh, and the Linden, which are beſt cut
after Vintage. The Oak if cut in Summer,
they obſerve is apt to breed Worms; but if in
Winter, it will keep ſound and not ſplit.
And it is not foreign to our Purpoſe what they
remark, that Wood which is cut in Winter, in
a North Wind, though it be green, will never
theleſs burn extremely well, and in a Manner
without Smoak; which manifeſtly ſhews that
their Juices are not crude, but well digeſted.
Vitruvius is for cutting Timber from the be
ginning of Autumn, till ſuch Time as the ſoft
Weſterly Winds begin to blow. And Heſiod
ſays, that when the Sun darts his burning Rays
directly upon our Heads, and turns Mens Com
plections to brown, then is the Time for Har
veſt, but that when the Trees drop their
Leaves, then is the Seaſon for cutting of Tim
ber. Cato moderates the Matter thus; let the
Oak, ſays he, be felled during the Solſtice, be
cauſe in Winter it is always out of Seaſon; other
Woods that bear Seed may be cut when that
is mature; thoſe that bear none, when you
pleaſe. Thoſe that have their Seeds green and
ripe at the ſame Time, ſhould be cut when
that is fallen, but the Elm when the Leaves
drop. And they ſay it is of very great Im
portance, what Age the Moon is of when you
fell your Timber: For they are all of Opini
on, and eſpecially Varro, that the Influence of
the Moon is ſo powerful over Things of this
Nature, that even they who cut their Heir in
the Wane of the Moon, ſhall ſoon grow bald;
and for this Reaſon, they tell us, Tiberius ob
ſerved certain Days for cutting his Hair. The
Aſtrologers affirm, that your Spirits will al
ways be oppreſſed with Melancholly, if you
cut your Nails or Hair while the Moon is op
preſſed or ill diſpoſed. It is to our preſent
Purpoſe what they ſay, that ſuch Things as
are deſigned in their Uſes to be moveable,
ought to be cut and wrought when the Moon
is in Libra or Cancer; but ſuch as are to be
fixed and immoveable, when ſhe is in Leo,
Taurus, or the like. But that Timber ought
to be cut in the Wane of the Moon, all the
Learned are agreed, becauſe they hold that the
flegmatick Moiſture, ſo very liable to immedi
ate Putrefaction, is then almoſt quite dried up,
and it is certain, that when it is cut in ſuch a
Moon, it is never apt to breed Worms. Hence
they ſay you ought to reap the Corn which
you intend to ſell, at full Moon; becauſe then
the Ears are full; but that which you intend
to keep in the Wane. It is alſo evident, that
the Leaves of Trees cropt in the Wane of the
Moon do not rot. Columella thinks it beſt to
fell Timber from the twentieth to the thirtieth
Day of the Moon's Age; Vegetius, from the
fifteenth to the two and twentieth; and hence
he ſuppoſes the religious Ceremony to ariſe, of
celebrating all Myſteries relating to Eternity
only on thoſe Days, becauſe Wood cut then
laſted in a Manner for ever. They add, that
we ſhould likewiſe obſerve the Setting of the
Moon. But Pliny thinks it a proper Time to
fell Trees when the Dog-ſtar reigns, and when
the Moon is in Conjunction with the Sun,
which Day is called an Interlunium, and ſays
it is good to wait for the Night of that Day
too, till the Moon is ſet. The Aſtronomers
ſay, the Reaſon of this is, becauſe the Action
of the Moon puts the Fluids of all Bodies into
Motion; and that therefore when thoſe Fluids
moſt approved Ancients have left us in many
and various Places, and to theſe, according to
our Cuſtom, we ſhall add whatever we our
ſelves have deduced from antique Works, or
the Inſtructions of moſt experienced Artificers,
if we happen to know any Thing that may be
ſerviceable to our Purpoſe. And I believe it
will be the beſt Method, following Nature
herſelf, to begin with thoſe Things which were
ſirſt in Uſe among Men in their Buildings;
which, if we miſtake not, were Timber Trees
which they fell'd in the Woods: Though
among Authors, I find, ſome are divided
upon this very Subject. Some will have it,
that Men at firſt dwelt in Caves, and that
they and their Cattle were both ſheltered
under the ſame Roof; and therefore they
believe what Pliny tells us, that one Gellius
Texius was the firſt, that, in Imitation of Na
ture built himſelf a Houſe of Mud. Diodorus
ſays that Veſta, the Daughter of Saturn, was
the firſt that invented Houſes. Euſebius
Pamphilus, an excellent Searcher into Antiqui
ty, tells us from the Teſtimony of the Ancients,
that the Grandſons of Protogenes firſt taught
Men the Building of Houſes, which they
patch'd up of Reeds and Bullruſhes: But to
return to our Subject. The Ancients, then,
and particularly Theophraſtus, inform us, that
moſt Trees, and eſpecially the Fir, the Pitch
tree and the Pine, ought to be cut immediately,
when they begin to put forth their young
Shoots, when through their abundance of Sap
you moſt eaſily ſtrip off the Bark. But that
there are ſome Trees, as the Maple, the Elm,
the Aſh, and the Linden, which are beſt cut
after Vintage. The Oak if cut in Summer,
they obſerve is apt to breed Worms; but if in
Winter, it will keep ſound and not ſplit.
And it is not foreign to our Purpoſe what they
remark, that Wood which is cut in Winter, in
a North Wind, though it be green, will never
theleſs burn extremely well, and in a Manner
without Smoak; which manifeſtly ſhews that
their Juices are not crude, but well digeſted.
Vitruvius is for cutting Timber from the be
ginning of Autumn, till ſuch Time as the ſoft
Weſterly Winds begin to blow. And Heſiod
ſays, that when the Sun darts his burning Rays
directly upon our Heads, and turns Mens Com
plections to brown, then is the Time for Har
veſt, but that when the Trees drop their
Leaves, then is the Seaſon for cutting of Tim
ber. Cato moderates the Matter thus; let the
Oak, ſays he, be felled during the Solſtice, be
cauſe in Winter it is always out of Seaſon; other
Woods that bear Seed may be cut when that
is mature; thoſe that bear none, when you
pleaſe. Thoſe that have their Seeds green and
ripe at the ſame Time, ſhould be cut when
that is fallen, but the Elm when the Leaves
drop. And they ſay it is of very great Im
portance, what Age the Moon is of when you
fell your Timber: For they are all of Opini
on, and eſpecially Varro, that the Influence of
the Moon is ſo powerful over Things of this
Nature, that even they who cut their Heir in
the Wane of the Moon, ſhall ſoon grow bald;
and for this Reaſon, they tell us, Tiberius ob
ſerved certain Days for cutting his Hair. The
Aſtrologers affirm, that your Spirits will al
ways be oppreſſed with Melancholly, if you
cut your Nails or Hair while the Moon is op
preſſed or ill diſpoſed. It is to our preſent
Purpoſe what they ſay, that ſuch Things as
are deſigned in their Uſes to be moveable,
ought to be cut and wrought when the Moon
is in Libra or Cancer; but ſuch as are to be
fixed and immoveable, when ſhe is in Leo,
Taurus, or the like. But that Timber ought
to be cut in the Wane of the Moon, all the
Learned are agreed, becauſe they hold that the
flegmatick Moiſture, ſo very liable to immedi
ate Putrefaction, is then almoſt quite dried up,
and it is certain, that when it is cut in ſuch a
Moon, it is never apt to breed Worms. Hence
they ſay you ought to reap the Corn which
you intend to ſell, at full Moon; becauſe then
the Ears are full; but that which you intend
to keep in the Wane. It is alſo evident, that
the Leaves of Trees cropt in the Wane of the
Moon do not rot. Columella thinks it beſt to
fell Timber from the twentieth to the thirtieth
Day of the Moon's Age; Vegetius, from the
fifteenth to the two and twentieth; and hence
he ſuppoſes the religious Ceremony to ariſe, of
celebrating all Myſteries relating to Eternity
only on thoſe Days, becauſe Wood cut then
laſted in a Manner for ever. They add, that
we ſhould likewiſe obſerve the Setting of the
Moon. But Pliny thinks it a proper Time to
fell Trees when the Dog-ſtar reigns, and when
the Moon is in Conjunction with the Sun,
which Day is called an Interlunium, and ſays
it is good to wait for the Night of that Day
too, till the Moon is ſet. The Aſtronomers
ſay, the Reaſon of this is, becauſe the Action
of the Moon puts the Fluids of all Bodies into
Motion; and that therefore when thoſe Fluids