THE VEGETATION OF WOODLANDS. I3I 



searching for ways and means of again bringing the timber lands 

 of our country under forest, we must carefully examine every- 

 thing bearing on the subject. It is clear that State action, 

 whatever shape it may take, does not relieve the landowner ot 

 his responsibilities in regard to his woods. State care and 

 assistance does not do away with the necessity for individual 

 effort. In this country, private enterprise, quite unaided, has 

 already done much in forestry, and with some measure of State 

 assistance we can confidently look to it to accomplish more. 



16. The Vegetation of Woodlands. 



{Concluded frofit page 23.) 

 By Dr W. G. Smith. 



It still remains to trace the connection between the practical 

 side of forestry and the more strictly botanical aspects of woodlands 

 dealt with in the earlier part of this paper. Probably a consider- 

 able part of what follows is familiar to many foresters who could 

 add to it from their own experience. The object of the paper 

 will have been attained if it leads others to add further and more 

 useful observations on woodland vegetation. 



It is of considerable value to have proof that the natural and 

 semi-natural woods of Britain can be grouped into the fairly 

 definite scheme already given. This adds nothing materially 

 to what the forester who has travelled about already knows, but 

 it is something gained to know how many types of wood there are, 

 and where to expect them. The difficulty of classifying woods 

 is also simplified, because the factors which count most are few 

 in number, namely, wetness or dryness of soil, the presence 

 or absence of lime and humus, and the items included under 

 the terms exposure and shelter. It seems a natural follow-on 

 to assume that if certain soils and situations are more favourable 

 for native trees, then these same conditions must tell in the case 

 of non-native trees with a timber value, such as sycamore, beech, 

 Spanish chestnut and the exotic conifers. This is a branch which 

 the forester might profitably follow up. On oak soils of the drier, 

 shallower type, with a ground-vegetation of bracken, fern and 

 wood hyacinth, it has been observed that sycamore grows freely 



