P.klTISH 1-MRKST TREES 207 



Wherever the soil is suitable for the reception of the 

 acorns, a good flush of seedling growth follows the mast- 

 year, but, in order to take full advantage of it, herds of 

 swine should, if convenient, be driven into the woods for 

 pannage, as, though they feed on the acorns, they do much 

 more good than harm by treading the seed into the 

 ground, and by disturbing the soil-covering both with their 

 feet and with their snouts. Where such simple means are 

 not at hand, some artificial assistance must be given by 

 dibbling or treading in the seed, or by hoeing the ground, 

 as unless the acorns have a covering of earth about one to 

 one and a half inches deep, they are apt to lose their germin- 

 ative power through the frosts of the ensuing winter. 



Even in mixed forests of beech and oak, a good acorn 

 year is generally followed by a fair growth of seedlings of 

 the latter species, which only require light and air, through 

 clearance of the standard trees, to enable them to develop 

 normally into groups of oak. But whenever, under the light 

 shade of aged oak trees, the soil has any strong tendency to 

 growth of grass, natural reproduction is less likely to yield 

 satisfactory results than planting, and in general it may be 

 said that regeneration under parent standards offers its best 

 results on soils of only average or inferior quality ; more or 

 less of artificial aid is, however, usually requisite under 

 nearly all ordinary circumstances. 



In order to utilise a good seed-year to its fullest, the area, 

 over which the seed-felling extends, should comprise the 

 fall of several successive years ; but care must be taken not to 

 include more annual falls than can be totally cleared during 

 the period of regeneration, as the seedling growth demands 

 the speedy removal of the parent standards. It is better to 

 await the advent of the next good seed-year for a portion of 

 the area, than to comprise too many annual falls in any one 

 seed-felling. Wherever convenient, the largest standards, 



