98 OUR FORESTS AND WOODLANDS 



trees to have a better crown of foliage and to 

 thicken in girth. Neglect to thin at the proper 

 moment would of course lead to a crowded and 

 unhealthy condition, which is just as much to be 

 avoided as too open a growth. It is thus that 

 oak forests are treated in some parts of conti- 

 nental Europe, where they are made to attain a 

 maximum height of from a hundred to a hundred 

 and thirty feet, often with a clean stem for about 

 two-thirds of their length. The height attain- 

 able depends, however, to a very great extent on 

 the depth and the general suitability of the soil. 

 On deep fresh loams and in cool, shady dingles 

 and dells the oak is less impatient of shade or of 

 lateral confinement than on light sandy soils or 

 warm exposures, where its natural demands for 

 light and air become very marked. The soils 

 that in general suit the oak best are deep heavy 

 clay soils or stiffish loams, though it also does well 

 on lighter loamy and sandy soils that are deep 

 and fresh. But the largest trees and the finest 

 quality of wood are produced on deep clay lands. 

 In its natural habit of growth the oak exhibits 

 as necessitous a demand for light and air during 

 the young pole stage of growth as any other of 



