I'.klTISM l-okKST TREES 301 



With quicker rate of growth, it has about the same attainable 

 height as the former, but like the latter surpasses it in girth. 

 In root-system it also resembles the chestnut, rather than the 

 beech, in having a tap-root as well as strong side-roots which 

 penetrate deep down into the soil. The side-roots are more 

 prominently developed, however, than the tap-root, and 

 spread wide apart in their individual efforts to circumvent 

 obstacles opposing their downward progress in quest of sub- 

 soil moisture ; the roots ramify greatly, and easily adapt 

 themselves to the nature of the soil. With advancing age a 

 considerable number of more superficial roots is developed, 

 and the base of the stem becomes somewhat buttressed and 

 considerably enlarged. 



Requirements as to Soil and Situation. The lime grows 

 on soils of the most varying nature, but deep, fresh, light 

 loam suits it best. Rich soil on hill-sides or in coombs pro- 

 duces good timber-growth, but in rocky soil it often retains 

 its power of coppicing for a long time. Low-lying tracts 

 with fresh soil have also good growth to show ; in east 

 Prussia it springs up like a weed over large areas, and in 

 Russia it is extensively worked as coppice for the production 

 of bast or bass^ for ropes, mats, and the like. Its demands 

 on soil are generally about the same as the beech ; but, with 

 its somewhat deeper root-system, greater depth of soil is 

 requisite for the lime. The small-leaved species can thrive 

 better than the other with either a slight excess or deficiency 

 of soil-moisture, and makes also the smaller demand on 

 atmospheric warmth. For growth as timber trees, however, 

 dry soil is suitable to neither species. Warm localities are in 

 general better suited for the large-leaved species. Altogether, 

 the lime is not one of the most remunerative of forest trees, 

 and its cultivation in Britain must continue to take place 

 rather for aesthetic reasons than in consequence of calcula- 

 tions from a monetary point of view. For ornamental 



