NOTES ON PARTICULAR TREES 59 



for supposing that trees grown in situ from 

 acorns do in fact make better timber than trans- 

 plants. The disadvantage of forming oak woods 

 by the sowing of acorns is, that it is difficult to 

 preserve the acorns in a large plantation from 

 the ravages of mice and other vermin, and 

 unless the seedlings are cleaned by hoeing they 

 are in great danger of being smothered by the 

 grass. 



Oak does not generally grow to much value 

 on poor land. It should not be planted on any 

 soils except those which are somewhat above 

 the average quality found in plantations, or on 

 which there has been a previous crop of fair 

 oak. 



In the West Midland counties along the 

 Welsh border there are many thousand acres 

 of self-sown oak woods on stony hill-sides, nearly 

 all of the pedunculate variety. The boles are 

 of fair height, free from boughs, and the timber 

 is of excellent quality, but the trees are small 

 in size— one of 11 inches quarter-girth under 

 bark is above the average. There is no wood 

 which now sells so badly as small-sized oak. 

 These woods rarely produce an annual gross 

 income of 45. per acre, 2s. 6d. to 35. is as much 

 as most of them produce. It is hard to see, 



