viii INTRODUCTION 



planted with advantage. Some districts are 

 particularly suitable for other trees, which there 

 grow to a large size and command a ready 

 market. Where local circumstances thus point 

 out a tree, it should be planted. Also a planter, 

 although anxious to make a profit, will probably 

 not be exclusively influenced by financial con- 

 siderations, and will plant some trees, not very 

 likely to sell well, in order to gratify his aesthetic 

 taste, because they add beauty and variety to 

 the wood. Still, these trees require a special 

 reason to justify their place in a wood. In the 

 point of view of planting for a profit, larch, ash, 

 and oak stand in a class by themselves. 



The climate of Great Britain is very favour- 

 able to the growth of ash, oak, and all broad- 

 leaved trees. It is not quite as good for larch 

 as the climate of Switzerland, but it is better 

 than that of the greater part of France and 

 Germany. 



The soil of woodlands is almost always very 

 poor. As a rule no land is planted in countries 

 of settled civilisation, if it can be used for agri- 

 culture. The task of the forester is to grow 

 woods on land which in quality is between the 

 worst agricultural land and sterility. 



The English planter suffers from many dis- 



