98 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



that in some parts the wood is not completely stocked, causing 

 a lot of advance growth of beech to grow up under the other 

 trees. In a seeding felling made some three years ago, the 

 seedlings are not very numerous, owing to the failure of an 

 anticipated good seed-year. 



An area on which the secondary fellings were in progress was 

 observed to contain lots of sallow, birch, etc., as well as blanks. 

 These latter amount to four or five per cent, of the whole forest,, 

 and are being planted with oak. 



Under the old system, hornbeam became far too plentiful, and 

 oak was suppressed. Now, however, the hornbeam is being cut at 

 every opportunity, and oak are more numerous in the young woods. 

 On poor soil where no loam caps the sand, birch is grown. 

 The height of the trees is, for the most part, very good, 

 reaching from about ninety to one hundred and thirty feet in 

 the mature woods. 



The distribution of trees over the whole forest is as follows : — 

 Beech, .... 

 Hornbeam, 



Oak, .... 



Sallow, poplar, chestnut, and elm, 

 Conifers, .... 



Hence we see that hornbeam is still far too numerous, whilst 

 the percentage of the oak will be raised to 30, oak timber being 

 highly valued in France. 



The beech and hornbeam are sawn into planks and used as 

 furniture. Small beech and oak are used for railway-sleepers. 



A good beech mast usually occurs once in seven years, and 

 in 1898, numbers of people were admitted to the forest to gather 

 some of the excess of beech nuts, from which salad oil was made 

 to the value of ;^6ooo, besides 300 bushels of seed being sent 

 to other State Forests in France, and sufficient seed reserved to 

 restock the felling areas. 



Yield. 



As regards the product of thinnings, a wood forty years old 

 gave 350 cubic feet per acre, valued at ^2, 15s. A wood eighty 

 years old gave 250 cubic feet, valued at ^10 per acre; while the 

 mature standing crop is about 9500 cubic feet per acre, at an 

 average price of lod., worth ;^396. 



In Section IX. and No. 2 periodic block, the stock in the 



