AMONG THE OAKS 99 



our hardwoods, not even excepting the ash. And 

 this natural characteristic must always be taken 

 into account in growing it for profit as a crop 

 of timber. 



The oak is suitable for growing in every kind 

 of wood. It is the best of hedgerow trees, for it 

 neither robs the soil of food intended for the 

 crops, nor tends to hinder the plough by throwing 

 out Jong shallow roots like ash and elm, nor does 

 it injure the crops by overshadowing to so great 

 an extent as some trees. In coppice for tanning- 

 bark it used to be a good form of investment, 

 yielding a quick and profitable return in the days 

 before the English market was spoiled first by 

 cheaper foreign bark and then by still cheaper ex- 

 tracts and chemicals. Its resistance, both in branch 

 and root, to the violence of storms makes it, no 

 less than for its beauty, the tree most suitable for 

 parks and pasture-lands. Its value makes it one 

 of the most desirable of the standard trees in 

 copsewoods, where the comparatively light shade 

 it casts on the underwood does not interfere un- 

 duly with the growth of the latter. Finally, it 

 forms an excellent crop in highwoods, though in 

 this form it can best be grown along with the 



