Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 2.djvu/438

 of the outfit of the carpenter as well as of the blacksmith.

The shipwright was as prominent as the carpenter in the economic system of the Colony. The resources of Virginia for ship-building were recognized at the time of the earliest exploration of the country, the height, girth, and variety of the trees being one of the most remarkable features of the valleys adjacent to the streams. Smith commented on the fine quality of the timber for the construction of vessels, and he referred to it as a source of wealth if properly used. Experienced shipwrights who visited the Colony at an early period in its history, stated that nowhere in the world could more suitable material for ship-building be found than that which abounded everywhere in its forests; this fact was so well known in England by report, that it was proposed that the English Government should draw its supply for the construction of vessels entirely from Virginia, and on account of the inexhaustible quantity obtainable there, that the English navy should be annually increased by the building of two ships of a thousand tons burden for a period of ten years. Not only would the defences of the mother country be strengthened in this way, but its small area of woods would not be further reduced. It was calculated that Holland and England expended one million dollars annually in the purchase of ship timber.

The first vessel of Virginian construction was built previous to 1611, and was equal in weight to twelve or