CHAP, vii.] Treatment of Mixed Woods 153 



heading of ' forest weeds] for the removal of which a considerable 

 expenditure of time, trouble, and outlay is often necessitated. 

 Where they occur singly and individually here and there, not 

 only is no damage done by them, but they may prove beneficial 

 in protecting the slow-growing Beech against late and early 

 frosts ; and, with favourable opportunity of disposing of small 

 material, they can often be made to yield fair returns when cut 

 out during the cultural operations of weeding and clearing. 

 Wherever they occur in considerable numbers, however, they 

 interfere considerably with the development of the Beech, and 

 must be cut out as soon as possible in order to avoid the forma- 

 tion of blanks. On account of their strong reproductive capacity, 

 and of the rapidity in growth of their coppice-shoots and stoles, 

 it is better merely to lop them, and to leave snags of two or three 

 feet standing, than to cut them flush with the ground. With 

 the timely removal of such softwood nurses, a good opportunity 

 is offered for the introduction of sturdy transplants of the 

 nobler species of our forest trees. But when once the proper 

 time for their clearance has been allowed to slip by, it is difficult 

 to adopt any other measure than their very gradual removal 

 during the subsequent operations of tending, without at the 

 same time exposing the principal crop to the danger of being 

 bent down or laid for the young Beech poles are apt to be 

 drawn up so fast as to become top-heavy without the partial 

 support of the softwoods. 



Beech with Scots Pine. Each of these trees accommo- 

 dates itself well to the peculiar requirements of the other, for 

 the light-demanding Pine is throughout all the stages of its 

 development of more rapid growth than the Beech. If intro- 

 duced to a moderate extent only, Pine does little damage to 

 the latter by overshadowing ; whilst, at the same time, it acts 

 beneficially as a nurse in protecting the Beech from extremes 

 of heat and cold. In such mixed crops the Scots Pine attains 

 more valuable dimensions, and is of better quality, than when 

 grown either pure or in admixture with other conifers. And 



