IN THE BEECHWOODS 135 



of the second chapter as to the apparent fact that 

 prices in Britain for timber of all sorts are almost 

 certain to rise considerably in the near future, 

 and that this rise in price will be permanent and 

 no mere flash in the pan. If these be duly con- 

 sidered, and found worthy of acceptance, then 

 the beech should henceforth acquire very much 

 greater importance as a woodland tree than has 

 hitherto been the case in this country. 



Grown in pure crops as a timber tree, beech 

 has on limy soils great value as a producer of 

 income, but, apart from this more or less local 

 advantage, it will in many cases have a special 

 value for assisting materially towards the best de- 

 velopment of other and more remunerative kinds 

 of wood by reason of its capacity for bearing 

 shade, its protection of the ground through the 

 overshadowing of its dense crown, and its en- 

 richment of the soil through the formation of 

 good mould by the dead leaves thickly shed 

 each autumn. 



On account of its heavy crown of dense foliage 

 it is ill suited as a standard in copse, or as a 

 timber tree in hedgerows; but in highwoods of 

 light-demanding trees, like oak, ash, larch, and 



