1 88 OUR FORESTS AND WOODLANDS 



than that of any of the other broad-leaved kinds of 

 trees, it would be well suited for making packing- 

 cases, crates, and the like were any quantity of 

 it available ; but the good land required for its 

 best growth can be more profitably utilised by 

 other woodland crops. 



Horse-chestnut (^Esculus Hippocastanum) is of 

 rapid growth, and is a fairly hardy tree. Its 

 wood is soft and not durable, though in some 

 parts of Britain it sells for as much as elm, and 

 more than beech or pine. It can be used for 

 flooring, waggon bottoms, and turnery. Its best 

 growth is attained in a sheltered position, as heavy 

 winds are apt to break its spreading branches. 

 But it, too, is rather a tree of the parks and avenues 

 than a true denizen of the woodlands ; and as it 

 requires a good loamy soil for its best growth, 

 hardwoods will usually prove a more profitable 

 admixture among the timber crops. 



The Willows (Salix) and Poplars (Populus) 

 are, like alder and birch, very closely related to 

 each other. Indeed, they are all four close rela- 

 tives, and they also have many characteristics in 

 common, for they are all light-demanding soft- 

 woods, and they all do well on moist or wet land. 



