CHAPTER II 



TREE GROWTH IN RELATION TO CLIMATE 

 AND SOIL 



IT is very important to decide correctly what species should 

 be planted on any given spot, as if a wrong one is chosen, 

 no matter how carefully the wood is afterwards treated, the 

 final result will be disappointing. Most species will do fairly 

 well while young on soils and situations where they will never 

 grow into large timber, and it is often only after twenty or 

 thirty years that they become unhealthy and fall off in growth. 

 There is then nothing to do but to fell the wood long before 

 the trees reach a paying size and to start again with another 

 species. If only poles are required the choice is not so 

 difficult, but when large timber is wanted it is essential to 

 choose those species which will be satisfied with the local con- 

 ditions of climate and soil. The various requirements of the 

 different species are discussed in this chapter, and by a careful 

 attention to all the points referred to, a woodman should be 

 able to decide what is best to plant. 



The species to be considered are those ordinarily grown as 

 forest trees in the United Kingdom. The more recently 

 introduced exotic species should usually only be planted on 

 an experimental scale, as it would be risky to plant up large 

 areas with species about which doubt exists as to whether 

 they will succeed in our climate, and whose timber may not 

 be acceptable to timber merchants. The following list in- 

 cludes the chief species to be considered, though some others 

 are mentioned here and there. 



