AMONG THE OAKS 103 



circumstances, ninety years of age. When the 

 bark was still easily saleable and highly remune- 

 rative, oak was, of course, encouraged as one of 

 the chief kinds of wood among the coppice. 

 Owing to the fall in the price of oak-bark, how- 

 ever, this must naturally be less the case in 

 future than formerly. Thus, while efforts should 

 be made to stock the coppice as thickly as pos- 

 sible with oak, ash, sycamore, maple, beech, and 

 hazel, according to the nature of the soil, the 

 main value of the oak will probably in future be 

 as a standard for the production of timber. The 

 only other trees which are likely to compete with it 

 in this respect are ash and larch. Often equally well 

 paid, and even sometimes much more remunerative 

 than the oak, these are, like it, trees making very 

 strong demands on light and air, casting but a 

 comparatively light shadow over the underwood 

 growing around them, and thriving best when the 

 soil is well protected by a thick undergrowth of 

 densely-foliaged coppice. As the treatment for 

 woods of this sort can be more appropriately 

 described with reference to all the light-demand- 

 ing trees, detailed consideration of the modern 

 continental method of working copsewoods may 



