136 OUR FORESTS AND WOODLANDS 



pine, an admixture of beech enables all the 

 different kinds of timber crops to attain greater 

 energy of growth, and a finer development alto- 

 gether, than when these are grown in pure crops. 

 Even below the surface of the ground such an 

 admixture of beech performs good service, as it 

 contributes towards more thorough oxygenation 

 of the soil through the great capacity of its 

 heart-shaped root-system, while symbiotic fungi 

 (Mycorhiza) living within the rootlets also exert 

 a chemical action in improving the soil. These 

 indirect advantages of the beech in improving 

 the soil and the growth of other kinds of trees 

 have not in the past been sufficiently recognised 

 in Britain, though they seem deserving of re- 

 cognition in a practical form wherever crops of 

 timber may be grown for profit as a regular 

 business, like farming. 



Gayer, one of the greatest Continental authori- 

 ties, has said that it would be next to impossible 

 to grow the better classes of hardwood without 

 the assistance of the beech. Though this be 

 true for the dry climate of the European conti- 

 nent, the case is fortunately somewhat different 

 in our humid atmosphere. Thanks to our 



