CONCERNING NATURAL REGENERATION IN GENERAL, 21 
are less successful in doing this, and therefore soon die for want 
of sustenance. And as the seeds of most hardwoods are 
heavier than those of conifers, this also gives them a better 
chance of getting into contact with the soil. 
A light soil-covering of heather is not altogether a drawback, 
as it affords some shelter to young seedlings; but in sheltered 
positions good moss often grows thickly about its roots, and 
intercepts the seed as it falls, while seeds which may happen 
to germinate soon damp off, as they do on a grassy surface. 
Before attempting natural regeneration, therefore, it is import- 
ant that the ground should be fairly clear of weeds, though their 
subjugation is often impossible. Where heather abounds along 
with moss, burning has on certain kinds of soil the drawback 
that it leaves a hard surface, owing to the fire eating into the 
fibrous layer. The weeds ought therefore to be burned before 
the trees are felled, for in quick burning no harm is done to the 
standing trees, while dragging and removing the felled timber 
break up the crust thus formed, and allow the seed to fall at 
once on loose soil. : 
In many Scots pine-woods the lack of young seedlings is 
often attributed to the shade of the old trees, but this is not the 
sole cause. Around Scots pine-trees there is invariably a mass 
of needles, the decomposition of which is assisted by saprophytic 
fungi (chiefly Botrytis cinerea, the common grape-mould), whose 
mycelium permeates the layer of fallen needles; and as seedlings 
germinate there, they push their tender radicle into this fungous 
mass and are killed. That this damping off is due to fungous 
infection, and not to atmospheric conditions, is probable from 
the fact that when part of the dead leaves has been re- 
moved, artificially or otherwise, young seedlings spring up and 
thrive on these disturbed parts, if not checked by other agencies ; 
whereas, on the adjoining parts where the leaves are lying, 
plants are either entirely wanting, or are exceptionally rare of 
any large size. It may be that the lack of nourishment in this 
layer leads to the damping off of young seedlings, but it is 
certain that on ground covered with a close mass of weeds or 
leaves one cannot trust to natural regeneration without artificial 
assistance. 
In the unassisted natural regeneration of Scots pine-woods, 
the process is, of course, one of natural selection. Nature’s 
method, however, is not the selection of trees to be ¢aken out, 
