1885.] SYLVICULTURE ON POOR CLAY SOIL. 349 



SYLVICULTURE ON POOR CLAY SOIL. 



WE reproduce a portion of the article on this subject referred 

 to iu the preceding paper : — 



" The first question, after the preparation of the land, is the kind 

 of trees that will pay best. As to the permanent crop, we have 

 not a large selection, viz. oak, ask, and sycamore. The first is the 

 slowest, and in really poor clay will hardly make fine wood. More- 

 over, being so slow, especially in its early life, there is a risk of 

 its being smothered by the soft woods, although, of course, this 

 should be guarded against by judicious thinnings. Ash offers great 

 inducements at the present time, as such timber is scarce, and often 

 more valuable than oak. Since 1845, when a great raid was very 

 properly commenced on hedgerow trees, a vast quantity of ash has 

 been removed, and comparatively little has been planted. At the 

 same time the great development of the implement trade has 

 caused increased consumption ; so it has come to pass that a com- 

 paratively fast-growing wood, quite equal to a third more production 

 in a given time than oak, has attained an equal, and in some 

 cases even greater, value. Good, clean, tough ash is much iu 

 demand ; and it should be borne in mind, as an item in its favour 

 for the case we are describing, that, if properly nursed so as to 

 secure clean growth, it is sure in such a soil to be of good quality, 

 because very rapid growth is out of the question. There is another 

 merit in ash over oak, which is the greater comparative value of 

 trees of small scantling. Oaks under 20 feet are of little use, 

 whereas it is just such ash wood that wheelwrights delight in. It 

 is not a good plan, as a rule, to mix hardwoods, though this is 

 often done. It is preferable to keep them separate, even though we 

 employ them in the same plantation. 



" There are strong reasons why more attention should be given to 

 the growing of ash timber; but neither ash nor oak are so well 

 suited to bad clay land as the great maple or sycamore tree, which, 

 though not a native of the country, might almost be called the 

 weed of strong soils, whilst in hardiness and rapidity of growth it 

 beats both ash and oak all to nothing. There is no fear of its 

 being overpowered by the nurse trees ; it will hold its own, and as 

 the trees come to maturity we often get a rare crop of seedlings, 

 which can be taken up and planted out safely for another crop. 

 The quality of the timber is not so close-grained or compact as 

 either oak or ash, but trees of large size are valuable for furniture, 

 and especially for turning ; and straight, well-grown trees con- 

 taining 40 or 50 feet are often more valuable than oak of similar 



