32 TREE GROWTH IN RELATION TO 



is fresh all the year round, but more especially in the growing 

 season. Such a soil will suit almost all species. The different 

 species can be classified as follows with regard to the moisture 

 they demand : 



Species which demand a wet soil. (In summer water runs 

 off in drops from such a soil on the application of a little 

 pressure) : Common alder, ash, most poplars, and willows. 



Species which like a moist soil. (In summer such a soil 

 does not become dry for more than one inch below the sur- 

 face) : Hornbeam, elm, lime, mountain ash, pedunculate oak. 



Species which like a fresh soil. (In summer such a soil 

 does not become dry for more than six inches below the 

 surface) : Silver fir, spruce, larch, beech, sessile oak, Norway 

 maple, sycamore, Weymouth pine, sweet chestnut, Douglas fir. 

 (Spruce will succeed sufficiently well on a wet soil.) 



Species which will do well on a dry soil. (Such a soil 

 becomes dry to a depth of twelve inches within a week after 

 heavy rain) : Corsican pine, Austrian pine, Scotch pine, birch, 

 false acacia, aspen. 



Stagnant water is unfavourable to all species. 



A woodman can do much to regulate the amount of water 

 in a soil by draining those which are too wet, and by keeping 

 a good cover of trees over those which are too dry. 



Taking all the different factors of the soil into consideration 

 it is best to choose oak, beech, hornbeam, chestnut, or spruce 

 for stiff clay soils ; Scotch pine, Corsican pine, Austrian pine, 

 Weymouth pine, false acacia, or birch, for dry sandy soils ; 

 while, if the soil is sandy, but moist> sycamore, chestnut, and 

 spruce may be added to this list, and on almost pure sands on 

 the sea coast in the south of England the cluster pine will 

 succeed. Beech is decidedly the best species for chalky or 

 limy soils, and with it may be mixed oak, sycamore, ash, elms, 

 and larch to increase the revenue ; if such a soil is too dry 

 and shallow for beech, then Corsican and Austrian pines are 

 the best species to grow ; Douglas fir and chestnut should not 



