206 THE DEVELOPMENT OF BRITISH FORESTRY 



ordinary sense of the word, the chestnut has the reputa- 

 tion of becoming shaky after the fortieth or fiftieth year. 

 This fault, however, is not nearly so common in Ireland, 

 where splendid chestnut timber three to four feet in 

 diameter, and perfectly sound, may be met with. When 

 of these dimensions it makes a first-class furniture wood, 

 the almost complete absence of sapwood, and the fine 

 grain and figure, giving it as good an appearance as oak, 

 or even better, while it is less liable to warp or crack, 

 and easier to work. 



The best method of growing chestnut for timber is 

 in mixture with larch on dry soils, allowing the latter to 

 grow as long as they keep sound, and keeping the chest- 

 nut as a coppice after the first thirty or forty years. Its 

 liability to late frost damage renders it unsuitable for 

 frosty hollows, or any sites particularly liable to this 

 injury. In the south of England and in warm districts 

 generally the chestnut grows to an enormous size if 

 allowed to stand, but its timber value in these cases is 

 practically nil, for the reasons already given. 



Ash is so well known that it needs little description. 

 Its requirements in the Avay of soil are greater than those 

 of climate, and on comparatively high-lying land large 

 trees may be found wherever the soil is deep and fresh. 

 On most large areas it must be confined to the better and 

 fresher soils found in ravines or gulleys, or to alluvial 

 tracts generally. The great value of ash, apart from its 

 high price, lies in its self-seeding powers, which enable it 

 to spread over large tracts by self-sown seed when once 

 established, very much as in the case of sycamore. This 

 character renders it necessary for the forester to treat it 

 as a weed on land not adapted for its development, 

 otherwise a comparatively worthless crop results, for few 

 timbers vary so much in quality and value as this. 



The second group of species given above are probably 



