208 THE DEVELOPMENT OF BRITISH FORESTRY 



paratively poor soils, and its value even then is connected 

 more with its effect upon the soil and fellow-species, and 

 its power of reproduction, than upon the intrinsic value 

 of its timber. The latter is greatly valued in lirewood- 

 consuming countries, in which the smallest twig can be 

 utilised, but in many parts of Britain most of this class 

 of wood can only be given away. Clean growth has more 

 than an3'thing else to do with the value of beech, and it 

 has usually shared the same fate as spruce, silver fir, and 

 other shade-bearing species in being grown in an even- 

 aged mixture with slow-growing, light-demanding trees, in 

 which it either makes too much room for itself by cutting 

 out its weaker neighbours, or is planted so thinly as to 

 prevent its ever attaining any value as a crop. Except 

 in wet soils, or at elevations above 1000 feet, beech should 

 be introduced on a larger or smaller scale into all 

 mixtures in British woods. In windy districts or exposed 

 sites it is invaluable in excluding wind from the interior 

 of woods, and in rendering them wind-firm in stormy 

 weather. 



The timber of few trees probably depends more upon 

 the nature of the soil upon which it is grown than that 

 of the Scots pine. On rich loamy soil its timber is soft 

 and broad-ringed, with little resin, and seldom of much 

 use for important purposes in which strength and dura- 

 bility are concerned. Grown on fairly deep but sharp, 

 gritty gravels, loams, and sands, and in situations which 

 produce a moderate growth, timber from mature trees is 

 regarded as second to none for most structural purposes. 

 The most frequent mistake made in connection with 

 Scots pine in Britain is that of growing it in mixtures 

 instead of as pure or permanent crops, and in planting 

 it on too good soils on the one hand, or too shallow soils 

 on the other. At high altitudes, again, Scots pine is 

 invariably a failure as a timber tree, partly because it 



