228 FORESTRY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. 



years and, if unchecked, kills out the oak. In the former 

 case, the oak can be mixed singly into beech woods, care being 

 taken in the thinnings to help the oak whenever necessary. 

 In the second and much more frequent case, the oak must 

 either be given a considerable start of the beech, or grouped 

 together, or both. 



For the purpose of giving the oak a start it may be grown 

 pure in the first instance. It will fairly shelter the ground 

 until it begins to thin out, which generally occurs, according to 

 local conditions, between the age of thirty to sixty years. Up 

 to that age, the wood should be kept dense, so that tall, clean 

 stems may be produced. About the age of forty somewhat 

 heavier thinnings should commence, giving gradually more 

 growing space to the more promising oaks. Then a specially 

 heavy thinning should be made and the area under-planted 

 or sown with beech. The young beech are very grateful for 

 the shelter of the oaks during several years. Then more 

 thinnings may take place, leaving the most promising oaks in 

 such numbers that the beech below them has sufficient light 

 to come up. Both crops are then allowed to run through a 

 full rotation, favouring at all future thinnings the develop- 

 ment of the oak. In this way a crop of mature oak and beech 

 is obtained, the age of the former being some fifty years more 

 than that of the beech. This method of growing mixed oak 

 and beech is shown in the accompanying four illustrations. 



The second method of rearing oak with beech is to place the 

 former in groups, surrounded and separated from each other 

 by beech. For the oak, the most favourable spots should be 

 selected, where the soil is deep and the aspect favourable, 

 especially south-east or south. These spots should be sown 

 with acorns, or densely planted with young oak plants one 

 year old, about 8,000 to the acre. As soon as they are well 

 established, the remaining parts of the wood should be stocked 

 with young beech, either naturally or artificially according 

 to circumstances. The size of the oak groups should not vary 

 much. If they are too small, the beech does much damage 



