179 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



Timber 



Though usually looked on as a forest weed, it is possible that when grown 

 naturally from suckers thickly enough to clean the stems from branches, it may have 

 some value for making matches. In Sweden it is largely employed for this purpose, 

 and according to Schubeler 1,400,000 cubic ft. were thus used in 1882, and valued at 

 70 ore (about 8d.) per cubic foot. Cargoes of poplar timber, which I believe to be 

 mainly aspen, are now imported from the Baltic for making matches, and cost 

 delivered in Gloucester from 38s. to 48s. per load of 50 cubic ft. caliper measure. 



It is also largely used for pulp-making, for which it is very suitable ; but it 

 could scarcely be produced here in sufficient quantities at a price that would compete 

 with the produce of northern Europe and America. 



On this subject, however, a valuable paper 1 by Weigle and Frothingham on the 

 American aspens should be consulted, as these species resemble our native aspen in 

 life-history, characteristics, and uses. The conclusions of these authors may be 

 summarised as follows : 



1. No other trees have so wide a distribution in Europe and Asia as the aspens, 

 P. tremula covering 140 of longitude and 35 of latitude, whilst P. tremuloides 

 ranges over 112 and 41 respectively. 



2. They are both pre-eminently cold- and moisture-loving trees, requiring a very 

 short season of growth and thriving as P. tremula does at Colesborne where frosts 

 may occur during every month of the year. 



3. For their best growth they require deep fresh or moist, porous and well- 

 drained soils ; but they will grow on thin dry soil and in poorly drained situations. 



4. They are strikingly intolerant of shade ; and this applies even more strongly 

 to the suckers by which they are commonly reproduced, and which are often mistaken 

 for seedlings. The latter are rarely seen in England. 



5. Their growth is rapid during the first twenty to thirty years, and though they 

 may attain considerable size, yet they are short-lived, usually decaying before 100 

 years of age, and often much sooner ; and root-suckers do not produce such large or 

 well-shaped trees as seedlings. 



6. They are best managed as a pure crop under a short rotation ; and on account 

 of their extreme light-demanding character require timely thinning. 



7. The wood produces the best and whitest pulp, which can be produced and 

 manufactured, more cheaply than other species, into paper which is peculiarly suitable 

 for books and magazines. As the fibre is too short to make good paper alone, it is 

 mixed with a proportion (usually about 40 per cent) of sulphite spruce pulp which 

 adds strength. The finished paper is tough, white, and easily sized, and though 

 inferior to rag paper for the finest uses, is much cheaper. 



Waste land suitable for profitable planting of P. tremula (and possibly also 

 P. canescens) might be found in some parts of Scotland and Ireland ; and experiments 

 in this direction are advisable. 



In France, according to Mouillefert, the wood is valued for charcoal, but as 

 firewood it burns out very quickly. (H. J. E.) 



1 U.S. Forest Service, Bull. No. 93, The Aspens: their Growth and Management (1911). 



