SHAPE. 53 



I)icided sonietcJiat luirer dotrn are : Ash, Norway maple, 

 sycamore, elm, sessile oak, sweet chestnut. 



Decidedly branching with a dirided stem comparatively low 

 down : Pedunculate oak, lime, hornbeam, mountain pine. 



The shape is considerably altered when the trees are grown 

 in crowded woods, where each enjoys only a limited growing 

 space. In that case all species have a greater tendency to the 

 development of stem than of crown, and this is in the same 

 proportion as the species is light demanding and the growing 

 space reduced. Thus the crown of the silver fir covers often 

 the whole of the upper half of the tree, that of spruce the 

 upper third (and generally a little more), also that of beech 

 and hornbeam ; the crown of larch, Scotch pine, oak, birch 

 and aspen is reduced to the uppermost part of the stem. The 

 effect is, that the more elevated the crown is, the nearer will 

 the shape of the bole approach that of a cylinder, and conse- 

 quently the more valuable it will be. 



h. Ay.. 



All species, when grown in crowded woods, develop during 



the early part of life a conically shaped crown, but when they 



approach their full height the crowns differ considerably, so 



that the following classification applies : — 



A conical crown witJt thin branches have : Spruce, silver fir, 



larch. 

 An egg-shaped crown have : Elm, beech, Norway maple, 



sycamore, birch, sessile oak. 



An inverted broom shape, horizontally extended, with strong 



branches, have : Pedunculate oak, sweet chestnut, black 



poplar, lime. 



After the height growth has been completed the crowns of 



trees become flat or rounded off, more or less extending in 



breadth. Only spruce makes an exception, as the leading 



shoot continues to grow up to a great age, though very slowl3^ 



The practical conclusion to be drawn from these peculiarities 



is, that only shade bearing species, which are satisfied with a 



