156 THE NEW FORESTRY. 



which succumb, leaving no gap in the leafy roof, which shuts 

 out the light from above, causing that deep gloom underneath 

 that always gives a dense forest its sombre aspect The effect 

 of these conditions are that the trees are drawn up more 

 quickly in height than would be the case were they distributed 

 thinly over the ground and had more light and room. The 

 lower branches die off at an early stage, leaving the trunk 

 clean and free from knots, straight and of a nearly uniform 

 girth from end to end, compared to trees which have room to 

 develop their side branches down to the ground. A very 

 large proportion of the timber imported into this country from 

 abroad comes from natural forests and is of this description. 

 Whether it consists of poles or logs its general character is 

 the same, the conditions of growth being the same in all 

 regions and the results similar. 



Such is nature's method of producing timber, and all that 

 man can do to assist nature is to step in and shorten the 

 struggle at the beginning by sowing or planting more thinly 

 and regulating the crop afterwards, according to the species, 

 so as to secure the best results in the shape of a crop of timber. 

 What strikes the observer in a natural forest is the density of 

 the crop, the height of the trees, their freedom from branches, 

 their straightness and cylindrical shape of stem, all qualities 

 of the highest value in timber trees, which it should be the 

 aim of the forester to secure, and which he can secure by the 

 same means as nature employs if he chooses to use them. 

 The forest tree of nature is moulded into shape by external 

 agencies, now recognised in scientific forestry, reduced to 

 practice, and called " Sylviculture," that is to say the cultivation 

 of woods or forests as distinguished from " Arboriculture " or 

 the culture of trees two very different things long con- 

 founded. Some of the most accurate descriptions of natural 

 forests have been given by writers of fiction, without any 

 reference to practical forestry. Fennimore Cooper's descrip- 

 tions of natural scenery are noted for their truthfulness, and 

 his picture in " The Pathfinder " is well worth giving here : 

 " The elm with its graceful and weeping top, the rich varieties 

 of the maple, most of the noble oaks of the American forest, 

 with the broad-leaved linden, mingled their uppermost 

 branches, forming one broad and seemingly interminable 

 carpet of foliage, which stretched away towards the setting sun. 



The forest, as usual, had little to intercept the 



view below the branches but the tall, straight trunks of trees. 

 Everything belonging to vegetation had struggled towards 



