818 NOTES ON BRITISH FOREST TREES. 



The seed germinates only in the second spring, that is to 

 say about eighteen months after ripening. The best treat- 

 ment consists in bedding it mixed with sand in a ditch, 

 stirring it from time to time, and sowing it in the spring 

 of the second year. About 35 pounds of seed per acre are 

 required for broadcast sowings ; it requires a covering of about 

 ^ to f of an inch. 



In nurseries the seed should be sown in drills ; the 

 seedlings may be pricked out when one year old. Plantings 

 are done with plants three years old and upwards, the plants 

 being put about 4 feet apart. They stand pruning well. 

 The tree can also be propagated by cuttings, Avhich may l)e 

 several feet long ; the latter method may ])e employed for 

 hedges. In regenerating hornbeam naturally by seed, the 

 seeding cutting is mucli heavier than for beech, while the 

 remaining shelter-wood may be removed much more rapidly, 

 owing to the hardy nature of the tree. 



/'. Teiidhitj. 



Hornljeam is well adapted to maintain the fertility of the 

 soil, but not to the same extent as beech. It is little 

 threatened by external dangers ; the tree is frost hardy, but 

 during youth liable to suffer from continued drought. Inun- 

 dations affect it little. Game and cattle browse the leaves, and 

 mice peel the bark, which is also sometimes done by red deer. 

 The damage heals, however, quickly. 



The hornbeam rarely suffers from insect attacks. The 

 species infesting it are much the same as those of the beech. 

 In addition, the larva) of the Winter moth, Chcimatohia 

 l)nim(it((, strip the hornbeam of its young leaves. 



Fiouji : — KxoascHs rarj)iiii produces witch's broom ; canker 

 on stems and branches is produced either by Xectria (Utissiina, 

 or by frost. 



On the whole, hornbeam woods re(iuire little tending. The 

 tree stands any amount of pruning. The thinnings are done 

 on lines similar to those referring to beech durhig the first 



