CHAPTER IX 



THE TENDING OF WOODS 



IN one respect there is a strong analogy between human 

 beings and woodland growth ; for education or tending is just 

 as necessary in the one case as the other in order to achieve 

 the best results ultimately attainable. With regard to wood- 

 land crops this is most particularly requisite in mixed woods. 

 The ultimate shape and value of the boles of the light- 

 demanding species of timber-trees depend to a very great 

 extent on the treatment accorded to the woods during the 

 earlier stages of their development. 



Whether the crops be formed naturally by regeneration 

 under parent standards, or artificially by means of sowing 

 or planting, many young woods require a certain amount of 

 protection against dangers arising from inorganic causes like 

 frost, snow, raw winds, and drought, and from organic causes 

 like weeds, insects, and fungoid diseases. 



When mature falls of timber are reproduced naturally, or 

 by means of sowing before removing the whole of the mature 

 trees, the requisite degree of shelter can be to a certain extent 

 attained by leaving a sufficient number of parent or other 

 standards per acre. Fortunately, the great majority of trees 

 grown in Britain are of rapid growth during their earliest years, 

 and soon outgrow danger from frost and drought, to which 

 the light-demanding genera, Larch, Pine, and Birch especially, 

 and in a less degree also Oak, Ash, and Maples, are naturally 



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