150 SYLVICULTURAL NOTES ON 



after forty years of age, and is easily reproduced naturally. 

 It forms good shoots when coppiced. 



Ash is best grown in high forest scattered here and there 

 singly, or in small groups, in woods of other broad-leaved 

 species, especially beech. It can be grown as standards-over- 

 coppice, or as coppice under a light shade. Existing young 

 pure woods should be underplanted. 



It is a fast grower, and forms a straight stem which forks at 

 about half its height. The roots are extensive and deep- 

 growing. In the thinnings ash should be given plenty of 

 space, and other species should never be allowed to top it. It 

 is ripe for cutting at from sixty to seventy years, and is a very 

 profitable tree, being saleable at all sizes. It does not suffer 

 much from disease, though it turns black-hearted on unsuitable 

 soils and is injured by a fungus (Nectria ditissimd). The 

 shoots are sometimes stunted by a moth (Prays curtiselld). 

 The ash bark-beetle kills weakly trees. 



White Ash (Fraxinus americana] has much the same char- 

 acteristics as the ash, but it stands frost better and grows well 

 on dry sandy soils which are not good enough for common ash. 

 Its seed germinates in the first year after ripening. 



Beech (Fagus sylvatica). 



A native of England and of Europe, it is found up to 

 an elevation of 1,200 feet in Derbyshire. It is tender 

 against late frosts, but otherwise it is hardy. It grows best 

 on north or east aspects, and does well near the sea ; it 

 withstands an exposed situation fairly well. It does best 

 on a fairly deep, porous, fresh, and fertile soil, especially 

 where there is a good deal of lime. It is essentially the tree 

 for marls and chalky soils, but does well on moist sandy soils 

 or on moderately stiff clayey soils with lime. It is a great 

 shade-bearer, and for the first few years, when it is very sub- 

 ject to damage by frost or by hot sun, it may be considered as 

 shade-demanding. It produces good seed from sixty years of 



