Sylva, or, a discourse of forest-trees, and the propagation of timber in His Majesties dominions, as it was deliver'd in the Royal Society the XVth of October, [1662], upon occasion of certain quries propounded to that illustrious assembly, by the honourable the principal officers, and commissioners of the Navy

The second edition of an influential early work on silviculture, including an appendix on fruit trees and making cider, Pomona. John Evelyn was one of the original Fellows of the Royal Society, and was its secretary in 1672-3. In later life, he became an expert in several fields, and published a number of minor works. Through the end of the seventeenth century, Sylva (first published in 1664) became the chief source of information on the cultivation of trees and the uses for the various kinds of timber. Evelyn, writing mainly for gentile landowners, expressed himself in decidedly undemocratic tones. His pompous writing style made it difficult even for specialized scientists to read. Much of the material for Sylva was gathered from fellow Royal Society members, including John Winthrop, but many of the "facts" used in Evelyn's work had been handed down by word of mouth. One biographer of Henry David Thoreau suggests that much of Thoreau's conservation ethic derived from Evelyn's writings on the subject.