1885.] CLOSE WOODS OR OPEN? 489 



plantations, robbing the wood of somo of its nourishment, and 

 impoverishing the soil in respect of its available mineral ingredients ? 

 Seeing that we cannot afford to transport manure into the woods, we 

 must by all means husband the mineral strength of the ground, 

 depriving it only of the modest requisitions of the wood crop. These 

 requisitions do not amount to nuich, and being spread over eighty or 

 one hundred years, the ground easily satisfies them. jSTevertheless, 

 frugality has to be exercised with regard to the gradually dissolving 

 mineral ingredients of the soil, confining the enjoyment of them 

 as much as possible to the wood crop. This precaution is provided 

 for by close canopy destroying all herbage and weeds. 



There are, however, several species of tree which form unsatis- 

 factory canopy, and which in advanced stages of growth refuse to 

 thrive in very close order, or to keep the herbage in check. The 

 larch, for instance, when it is cultivated on level ground away from 

 its native mountain slopes, refuses to preserve close order as it 

 advances in years. Here and in other similar cases resort must be 

 had to a device in harmony with the general principle of shading 

 and preserving the soil. Since the larches refuse to form a 

 sufficient leaf canopy overhead, they must be assisted by a second 

 canopy — or we may call it at first perhaps a carpet — underneath. 

 That is to say, some other wood, such as silver fir or beech, should 

 be planted beneath the larches at some time between their twentieth 

 and fortieth year. 



A similar difficulty confronts us in the case of most of the 

 European deciduous woods with broad leaf. To secure dense and 

 satisfactory canopy in their case and the full advantages of close 

 order, they almost all require to be raised in admixture with a 

 plentiful quantity of beech, unless the same device of underplanting, 

 as in the case of the larch, be employed. Beech treated with 

 moderate thinnings will provide itself with perfectly straight and 

 branchless shafts even up to 70 feet high and more out of a total 

 height of over 105 feet. A minority of oaks scattered here and 

 there singly or in clumps amongst beech, measures being taken to 

 keep the latter in due subordination, will be trained almost to the 

 same degree. The beech is invaluable for training up the more 

 valuable hardwoods and for enriching and preserving the soil. It 

 may be necessary to enlarge the space allotted in our woods to this 

 useful and stately tree for the sake of protecting the soil and 

 rendering a permanent wood culture possible. There would be the 

 less difficulty in giving the beech more room if the report should be 

 verified, that creosoted beech forms excellent railway sleepers. 



To discuss all the advantages of close order and canopy would 

 take a great deal of space and patience ; but there is one advantage 



