WEEDS AND FUNGI 127 



appears to be the case they should not be cut wholesale, but 

 only those which are actually doing damage need be destroyed. 

 The rest may be left standing till their shelter is no longer 

 required, and may then be cut out. 



A very good instance of this sheltering effect of what would 

 ordinarily be called weeds can be seen in the Crown woods at 

 Tintern, where an excellent crop of larch, Douglas fir, and 

 Scotch pine, in groups, over about ten acres in all, has been 

 raised on a somewhat exposed position at an elevation of 

 850 feet by leaving coppice shoots of oak and other woody 

 weeds on the ground, the crop being planted between them. 

 The area was gone through occasionally and, at very small 

 expense, just those shoots which were actually injuring a tree 

 were cut back. The trees have now been planted eight years, 

 and are forming thicket, and the coppice shoots will be left 

 alone to die out. This example shows how advantage may 

 be taken of coppice shoots or other weeds to give valuable 

 shelter ; another advantage is that the great expense of whole- 

 sale cutting of weeds, which usually amounts to about i per 

 acre on strong soil, is saved. 



Herbaceous weeds may also be left alone unless actually 

 interfering with growth. 



It is worth noting that where no regeneration is required, 

 and where no planting is being carried out, brambles are 

 useful because they keep the soil moist and prevent leaves 

 being blown away. They are a sign of moisture in the soil, 

 and are absent in open woods with a dry soil, though they are 

 found in fairly thick woods if the soil is rich and moist. 

 Under such circumstances they are not killed out by the cover 

 unless this is very dense, low, and continued for five or six 

 years, as the seeds lie dormant for about four years. 



FUNGI. 



Fungi are plants which belong to the lowest form of plant 

 life, and which possess no chlorophyll ; they are therefore 



