1 62 OUR FORESTS AND WOODLANDS 



mainly for profit, sycamore deserves to receive 

 the preference, because it is more truly the tree 

 of the woods than the maple ; while the latter, 

 one of the first trees to flush into leaf in spring, 

 and with light yellow autumnal foliage contrast- 

 ing well with the dark greens and russet hues of 

 other trees, will always in parks and ornamental 

 portions of estates claim the advantage over the 

 sycamore with its heavier foliage, its greater 

 tendency to run into big branches, and its 

 gloomier aspect. 



As forest trees, both are energetic in growth, 

 and can attain dimensions as large as the oak or 

 the beech. They have both rather a tendency 

 to run to branches, which can only be checked 

 by growing them in somewhat close canopy. 

 Grown along with beech, they soon shoot ahead 

 of it in upward growth, but later on they are 

 overtaken. Then they must either be thinned 

 out or else protected by cutting out the beech 

 interfering with them, whichever operation pro- 

 mises to be ultimately the more profitable. 



Like the ash, maple and sycamore coppice 

 freely and can stand a considerable amount of 

 shade while young. But as they grow up into 



