' - THE AGE FOR PROFITABLY 



avenues, roadsides in plantations, and solitary trees in parks : it 

 requires good soil and sheltered situation. Though a hardy tree 

 as regards cold, yet the young wood is so brittle as to break under 

 ordinary storms. It can only be felled with profit when of large 

 dimensions, which in good soil would be when about eighty years 

 old. 



Scotch Elm [Ulmus moatana). — Next to the oak, the elm is 

 the most useful of our deciduous timber trees. Its timber, which 

 is of great strength and durability, is much used by coachbuilders, 

 cartwrights, and cabinetmakers, and also for agricultural imple- 

 ments and cooper-work. To grow the elm well it must be planted 

 in deep loam, resting on a dry porous subsoil, and it can only be 

 cut down with profit when of large dimensions, which under ordi- 

 nary circumstances it attains when about eighty years old. Thin- 

 nings of the elm 6 inches in diameter can be profitably disposed 

 of, being used for barrel staves, drawing bars, etc. 



EngUsh EL a (Urn us campestris). — Generally speaking, the 

 English elm furnishes better and larger timber than the Scotch, 

 and is used for the same purposes. Its wood is usually more cross 

 in the grain, and better adapted for wheel naves. It cannot be 

 felled to advantage before ninety or one hundred years of age. 



Oak (Quercus robur var. pedunculata, and var. sessiliflord). — 

 Since iron has become the principal material for the construction 

 of our navy and large trading vessels, large-sized oak is not so 

 much in demand. It is used for constructing coasting vessels, 

 agricultural buildings and implements, and in mining operations. 

 The bark is also much used for tanning. In favourable situations 

 it can be felled with profit when about one hundred years old. 



Sycamore {Acer pseudo-platanus). — The sycamore is one of 

 our" hardiest timber trees, and grows well on most soils and situa- 

 tions. When of great age, if of fair quality, it commands a high 

 price. Cabinetmakers give fabulous prices for some trees of large 

 dimensions. It is largely used for veneers, and is stained in imi- 

 tation of various woods. On account of this it is difficult to esti- 

 mate the time at which it ought to be felled. I am aware, how- 

 ever, that it is profitable to cut it at any age over forty years. At 

 this age it is suitable for barrel staves, and would exceed in value 

 any crop of larch. It is also an excellent coppice wood, springing 

 readily and rapidly from the stools, and in many cases growing 

 4 to 6 feet in length in one season. I have seen in good soil 

 and sheltered situations shoots 20 feet long in four years, but 



