BRITISH FOREST TREKS 197 



every fourteen to sixteen years for the sake of the smooth 

 bark, and the clearance of two hundred to two hundred and 

 forty-year-old trees, that have grown through two complete 

 periods of rotation of mature beech, there lie wider differ- 

 ences than can be shown in the treatment of any other 

 species of forest tree. Throughout all periods of existence 

 it deserves and receives as much attention in the way of 

 tending as can conveniently be bestowed upon it, although 

 the retention of timber beyond the hundred to hundred and 

 twentieth year should only be strictly confined to such 

 trees as promise good future development. A little timely 

 assistance is often all that is required to ensure normal 

 development. As Evelyn noticed and pointed out more 

 than two hundred years ago, wherever there were mixed 

 woods of oak and beech the latter slowly but surely ousted 

 the former from its foothold in the forest ; wherever mixed 

 forests are now to be found or formed it is the duty of the 

 forester to see that such shall not be the case, and to arrange 

 that at least the major part of the normally developed 

 crown shall at all times be enabled to have a comparatively 

 unrestricted enjoyment of light and air in order to provide 

 fur more plentiful and thorough assimilation, and a conse- 

 quent richer production of timber. 



The better classes of soil, where oak might be grown in 

 pure forest to maturity, have for the most part long since 

 been cleared for agriculture, and to attempt to grow oaks 

 on merely average or inferior boils, without subsequent 

 underplanting after they have entered the tree-forest stage of 

 growth, leads too frequently to indifferent development, and 

 partial deterioration in the quality of the soil, as evinced 

 by growth of whortleberries and similar weeds ; this leads later 

 on to greater interruption of the canopy and increased 

 liability to deterioration of the soil, when even the future 

 production uf forests of broad-leaved species may be at 



