STATE AND OTHER FORESTS OF FRANCE. 



79 



The oak is represented by the two species, sessile and 

 pedunculate. Its rate of growth is slow. If it holds an 

 important place by reason of the value of its timber, it forms, 

 except in a few plots, a very small proportion of the stock. 



The beech tends to become the dominant species. It is 

 also the tree best suited to the nature of the ground. Its 

 thick foliage maintains shade and cover, and permits the forest 

 vegetation to prosper on soil which, ill covered, would be 



YOUNG BEECH AND OAK — HAVE. 



VPhoto, A. D. R. 



burnt up by the sun. It grows well, and yields timber much 

 sought after for industrial purposes and as firewood. 



The hornbeam occupies an important place in the coppice and 

 underwood, where it has also a tendency to become invasive. 

 The other species, among which may be mentioned ash, 

 Ulmus campestris, maples, and softwoods, are chiefly met with 

 scattered here and there, and occupying a secondary position. 



The blocks present very various appearances, by reason of the 

 different methods of treatment to which the forest has been, and 

 is still, subjected. One finds there coppice-with-standards of all 

 ages, with standard poles more or less numerous ; thickets and 



