202 BRITISH FOREST TREES 



production of finer assortments of timber for cabinetmaking. 

 When felled, such subordinate species are often able to 

 coppice and grow up into underwood under the shade of 

 the standard oak trees. 



On still moister classes of oak soil, alders, willows, and 

 birch are often planted to stimulate the ruling species to 

 rapid growth in height ; but they have all to be cut out 

 early, else they are apt to suppress the principal species, 

 though the alder is able to reproduce itself as coppice twice, 

 before it is finally suppressed, and often yields fair returns 

 from its rapid growth. 



The beech, however, is by far the most important sub- 

 ordinate species grown along with the oak on soils which 

 are somewhat better than those on which the oak must be 

 subordinated to beech as the ruling species, but which at 

 the same time are not quite good enough to be planted up 

 with pure oak at first, and then partially cleared after com- 

 pletion of their chief growth in height, and underplanted 

 with beech. The admixture of the latter depends on the 

 extent to which the soil requires its protection against loss 

 of soil-moisture, involving subsequent deterioration. When 

 sufficient advantage in growth has been secured to the oak 

 over the beech, little tending is requisite beyond what may 

 be ordinarily given in the way of thinning throughout the 

 period during which the beech attains its maturity. About 

 the eightieth to hundredth year, after the main growth in height 

 has been attained, the beech is naturally reproduced under the 

 oak standards, with more or less artificial assistance wher- 

 ever necessary, and the whole grows up till the young crop 

 of beech also attains maturity, when the oaks are 180 to 200- 

 year-old stems, of fine dimensions and high technical and 

 market value. The oak standards should, at the time of 

 the clearance of the first crop of beech, be distributed as 

 equally as possible over the area, so that each individual 



