in Geography, a huge wood; or, a large extent of ground covered with trees. The word is formed of the Latin foresta, which first occurs in the capitulars of Charlemagne, and which itself is derived from the German fryst, signifying the same thing. Spelman derives it from the Latin foris reflat, by reason forests are out of towns. Others derive foresta from feris, q. d. Foresta, quod sit tuta statio ferarum, as being a safe station or abode for wild beasts.
The Caledonian and Hercynian forests are famous in history. The first was a celebrated retreat of the ancient Picts and Scots: The latter anciently occupied the greatest part of Europe; particularly Germany, Poland, Hungary, &c. In Caesar's time it extended from the borders of Alsatia and Switzerland to Transylvania; and was computed 60 days journey long, and 9 broad: some parts or cantons thereof are still remaining.
The ancients adored forests, and imagined a great part of their gods to reside therein: temples were frequently built in the thickest forests; the gloom and silence whereof naturally inspire sentiments of devotion, and turn men's thoughts within themselves.
For the like reason, the Druids made forests the place of their residence, performed their sacrifices, instructed their youth, and gave laws therein.
in Law, is defined, by Manwood, a certain territory of woody grounds and fruitful pastures, privileged for wild beasts and fowls of forest, chace, and warren, to rest and abide under the protection of the king, for his princely delight; bounded with unremovable marks and meres, either known by matter of record or prescription; replenished with wild beasts of venery or chace, with great coverts of vert for the said beasts; for preservation and continuance whereof, the vert and venison, there are certain particular laws, privileges, and officers.
Forests are of such antiquity in England, that, excepting the New Forest in Hampshire, erected by William the Conqueror, and Hampton Court, erected by Henry VIII. it is said, that there is no record or history which makes any certain mention of their erection, though they are mentioned by several writers and in several of our laws and statutes. Ancient historians tell us, "that New forest was raised by the destruction of 22 parish churches, and many villages, chapels, and manors, for the space of 30 miles together, which was attended with divers judgments on the perversity of William I. who erected it: for William Rufus was there shot with an arrow, and before him Richard the brother of Henry I.; and Henry nephew to Robert, the eldest son of the Conqueror, did hang by the hair of the head in the boughs of the forest, like unto Abibalom." Blount.
Besides the New forest, there are 68 other forests in England, 13 chaces, and more than 700 parks: the four principal forests are New forest on the sea, Shire- wood forest on the Trent, Dean forest on the Severn, and Windsor forest on the Thames
A forest in the hands of a subject is properly the same thing with a chase; being subject to the common law, and not to the forest laws. But a chase differs from a forest in that it is not enclosed: and likewise, that a man may have a chase in another man's ground as well as his own; being indeed the liberty of keeping beasts of chase, or royal game therein, protected even from the owner of the land, with a power of hunting them thereon. See Park.
The manner of erecting a forest is thus: Certain commissioners are appointed under the great seal, who view the ground intended for a forest, and fence it round; this commission being returned into chancery, the king causeth it to be proclaimed throughout the county where the land lieth, that it is a forest; and prohibits all persons from hunting there, without his leave. Though the king may erect a forest on his own ground and waste, he may not do it on the ground of other persons without their consent; and agreements with them for that purpose ought to be confirmed by parliament.
A forest, strictly taken, cannot be in the hands of any but the king; for no person but the king has power to grant a commission to be justice in eyre of the forest: yet, if he grants a forest to a subject, and that on request made in the chancery, that subject and his heirs shall have justices of the forest, in which case the subject has a forest in law.
A second property of a forest is, the courts thereof. See Forest Courts, infra.
A third property is the officers belonging to it, as the justices, warden, verderer, forester, argitior, regarder, keeper, bailiff, beadle, &c. See the articles AGRITOR, BAILIFF, FORESTER, &c.
By the laws of the forest, the receivers of trespasses in hunting, or killing of the deer, if they know them to be the king's property, are principal trespassers. Likewise, if a trespass be committed in a forest, and the trespasser dies, after his death it may be punished in the lifetime of the heir, contrary to common law. Our Norman kings punished such as killed deer in any of their forests with great severity; also in various manners; as by hanging, loss of limbs, gelding, and putting out eyes. By magna charta de foresta, it is ordained, that no person shall lose life or member for killing the king's deer in forests, but shall be fined; and if the offender has nothing to pay the fine, he shall be imprisoned a year and a day, and then be delivered, if he can give security not to offend for the future, &c. 9 Hen. III. c. 1.
Before this statute, it was felony to hunt the king's deer; and by a late act, persons armed and disguised, appearing in any forest, &c. if they hunt, kill, or steal any deer, &c. are guilty of felony. 9 Geo. I. c. 22.
He who has any licence to hunt in a forest or chase, &c. is to take care that he does not exceed his authority; otherwise he shall be deemed a trespasser from the beginning, and be punished for that fact, as if he had no licence. See further, the articles GAME, and Game-LAW.
Beasts of the forest are, the hart, hind, buck, doe, bear, wolf, fox, hare, &c. The feasts for hunting whereof are as follow, viz. that of the hart and buck begins at the feast of St John Baptist, and ends at Holy-rod-day; of the hind and doe, begins at Holy-rod, and continues till Candlemas; of the boar, from Christmas to Candlemas; of the fox, begins at Christmas, and continues till Lady-day; of the hare at Michaelmas, and lasts till Candlemas.
FOREST-COURTS, courts instituted for the government of the king's forests in different parts of the kingdom, and for the punishment of all injuries done to the king's deer or venison, to the vert or greenwood, and to the covert in which such deer are lodged. These are the courts of ATTACHMENTS, of REGARD, of SWINMOT, and of JUSTICE-SEAT. 1. The court of attachments, woodmote, or forty days court, is to be held before the verderers of the forest once in every forty days; and is instituted to inquire into all offenders against vert and venison: who may be attached by their bodies, if taken with the mainour (or maineure, a man) that is, in the very act of killing venison, or stealing wood, or in the preparing to do so, or by fresh and immediate pursuit after the act is done; else they must be attached by their goods. And in this forty-days court the foresters or keepers are to bring in their attachments, or pretenments de viridi et venatione; and the verderers are to receive the same, and to enrol them, and to certify them under their seals to the court of justice-seat or Swinmote: for this court can only inquire of, but not convict, offenders. 2. The court of regard, or survey of dogs, is to be helden every third year for the lawing or expedition of maliffs; which is done by cutting off the claws of the fore feet, to prevent them from running after deer. No other dogs but maliffs are to be thus lawed or expedited, for none other were permitted to be kept within the precincts of the forest; it being supposed that the keeping of these, and these only, was necessary for the defence of a man's house. 3. The court of swinmote is to be holden before the verderers; as judges, by the steward of the swinmote, thrice in every year; the swains or freeholders within the forest composing the jury. The principal jurisdiction of this court is, first, to inquire into the oppressions and grievances committed by the officers of the forest; "de super-oneratone forestariorum, et aliorum ministrorum forese; et de eorum oppresionibus populo regis illatis;" and, secondly, to receive and try pretenments certified from the court of attachments against offences in vert and venison. And this court may not only inquire, but convict also; which conviction shall be certified to the court of justice-seat under the seals of the jury, for this court cannot proceed to judgment. But the principal court is, 4. The court of justice-seat, which is held before the chief justice in eyre, or chief itinerant judge, capitulus justiciarius in itinere, or his deputy; to hear and determine all trespasses within the forest, and all claims of franchises, liberties, and privileges, and all pleas and causes whatsoever therein arising. It may also proceed to try pretenments in the inferior courts of the forest, and to give judgment upon conviction of the swinmote. And the chief justice may therefore, after pretenment made or indictment found, but not before, issue his warrant to the officers of the forest to apprehend the offenders. It may be held every third year; and 40 days notice ought to be given of its sitting. This court may may fine and imprison for offences within the forest, it being a court of record; and therefore a writ of error lies from hence to the court of king's bench, to rectify and redress any mal-administrations of justice; or the chief justice in eyre may adjourn any matter of law into the court of king's bench.
FOREST-Laws, are peculiar laws, different from the common law of England. Before the making of Charta de Forfeta, in the time of King John and his son Henry III. confirmed in parliament by 9 Henry III. offences committed therein were punished at the pleasure of the king in the severest manner. By this charter, many forests were disafforested and stripped of their opprivative privileges, and regulations were made for the government of those that remained; particularly, killing the king's deer was made no longer a capital offence, but only punished by fine, imprisonment, or abjuration of the realm: yet even in the charter there were some grievous articles, which the clemency of later princes has since by statute thought fit to alter per efflas forefeta. And to this day, in trespasles relating to the forest, voluntas repudiatur pro fafo; so that if a man be taken hunting a deer, he may be arrested as if he had taken a deer.
FOREST-Towns, in Geography, certain towns of Swabia in Germany, lying along the Rhine, and the confines of Switzerland, and subject to the house of Austria. Their names are Rhinefield, Seckingen, Lauenburg, and Waldshut.
FOREST-STAFF, an instrument used at sea for taking the altitudes of heavenly bodies. The fore-staff, called also crofs-staff, takes its denomination hence, that the observer, in using it, turns his face towards the object; in opposition to the back-staff, where he turns his back to the object.
The fore or crofs-staff, consists of a straight square staff, graduated like a line of tangents, and four crofts or vanes, which slide on it. The first and shortest of these vanes, is called the ten crofts, or vane, and belongs to that side of the instrument on which the divisions begin at three degrees and end at ten. The next longer vane, is called the thirty crofts, belonging to that side of the staff in which the divisions begin at ten degrees and end at thirty, called the thirty scale. The next vane is called the sixty crofts, and belongs to the side where the divisions begin at twenty degrees and end at sixty. The last and longest, called the ninety crofts, belongs to the side where the divisions begin at thirty degrees and end at ninety.
The use of this instrument is to take the height of the sun and stars, or the distance of two stars: and the ten, thirty, sixty, or ninety crofts, are to be used according as the altitude is greater or less; that is, if the altitude be less than ten degrees, the ten crofts is to be used; if above ten, but less than thirty, the thirty crofts is to be used, &c. Note, For altitudes greater than thirty degrees, this instrument is not so convenient as a quadrant or semicircle.
To observe an Altitude by this instrument.—Apply the flat end of the staff to your eye, and look at the upper end of the crofts for the centre of the sun or star, and at the lower end for the horizon. If you see the sky instead of the horizon, slide the crofts a little nearer the eye; and if you see the sea instead of the horizon, slide the crofts farther from the eye; and thus continue moving till you see exactly the sun or star's centre by the top of the crofts, and the horizon by the bottom thereof. Then the degrees and minutes, cut by the inner edge of the crofts upon the side of the staff peculiar to the crofts you use, give the altitude of the sun or star.
If it be the meridian altitude you want, continue your observation as long as you find the altitude increase, still moving the crofts nearer to the eye. By subtracting the meridian altitude thus found from 90 degrees, you will have the zenith distance. To work accurately, an allowance must be made for the height of the eye above the surface of the sea, viz. for one English foot, 1 minute; for 5 feet, 2 1/2; for ten feet, 3 1/2; for 20 feet, 5; for 40 feet, 7, &c. These minutes subtracted from the altitude observed, and added to the zenith distance observed, give the true altitude and zenith distance.
To observe the distance of two stars, or the moon's distance from a star, by the fore-staff.—Apply the instrument to the eye, and looking to both ends of the crofts, move it nearer or farther from the eye till you see the two stars, the one on the one end, and the other on the other end of the crofts; then the degrees and minutes cut by the crofts on the side proper to the vane in use give the stars distance.