TENDING OF WOODS 75 



the tallest and best in the wood, and will probably form the 

 final crop. Such trees are called dominant or dominating 

 trees. Among these we find trees which are beginning to 

 fall behind in the struggle for existence ; their heads are still 

 well up to the light, but they are partly shaded by the 

 dominant trees, and they will obviously be gradually left 

 behind. These are the dominated trees. Below the dominant 

 and dominated trees we find others completely left behind. 

 If left alone they will gradually die ; these are the suppressed 

 trees. Finally we find dead trees. 



Now one of the chief objects of a properly conducted 

 thinning is to give the proper growing space to the best trees 

 which are to form the final crop, and therefore it follows that 

 the trees to be cut must be those which are pressing too 

 much on these dominating trees, and which are depriving 

 them of the necessary light and root space. In all thinnings 

 dead trees should be cut out, as these might prove breeding 

 grounds for insects and fungi. In pure woods, suppressed 

 trees should also usually be removed, as they are unhealthy, 

 but they may be left if they are only partially suppressed, and 

 are doing useful work by increasing the cover, or by shading 

 the boles of well-shaped trees, and if they are of a species not 

 specially liable to attack by insects and fungi. 



With regard to the dominated trees it is usually best, in 

 most cases, to leave them standing to cover the soil, but if they 

 are so numerous that they interfere with each other's develop- 

 ment, some of these may be cut out. The best rule to follow 

 is to thin amongst these in such a way as to form no large 

 break in the leaf-canopy, so that when the thinning is finished 

 there is still a complete cover over the ground. Any dominated 

 tree which is damaging or over-crowding a dominant tree 

 should be cut. 



The dominant trees are left standing, except that a badly- 

 shaped, unhealthy, or very large crowned one should be cut 

 out if this will enable a well-shaped dominated tree to take its 



