72 ON SOILS AND SUBSOILS SUITABLE FOR PLANTING. 



of the soil is always carried down into the valleys, which are thns en- 

 riched from the neighboring hills. According to the angle of incli- 

 nation, a hill might be described as gently sloping up to 10° from the 

 horizontal ; moderately steep, from 11^ to 20°; steep, from 21° to 30°, 

 and very steep when over 30°. 



In addition to these three chief features, the local climate and the 

 growth of trees are influenced more or less by the character of the sur- 

 rounding district, and the form, extent, and direction of the ranges of 

 hills on which the forests are. 



The various soils suited for different hard-wood trees. 



The Beech {Fagus si/lvatica), is the only hard wood by nature ad- 

 mirably suited for growth in unmixed forests. Its leaves, rich in potash, 

 decay easily, and form an excellent humus. In high-timber forests, it 

 finds its proper i)lace, growing best where the foliage forms an almost 

 unbroken roof, which hinders the sun from drying the soil. Its period 

 is usually 100 to 120 years, being longer on poor soils. It is not suited 

 for coppice, because its power of sending up shoots from the stool is not 

 great, and their growth is slow ; but in lime soils this power is greater. 

 It occurs as coi)pice under standards where the latter throw much shade 

 on the underwood, or where, as in the case of oak standards, the ground 

 should be well shaded from the sun. On lime, and the milder clay soils, 

 it thrives as standards, but it then overshadows more than any other 

 tree. Its wood is usually worth less than other hard woods in the mar- 

 ket. The beech requires a strong mineral soil, fresh and rich in humus. 

 It is often found with the oak on sandy -loamy deposits, if not too dry or 

 too moist ; but on poorer and lighter soils, or in exposed places, it grows 

 slowly, and the soil becomes impoverished. The true home of the beech 

 is on lime, basalt, and greenstone if the soil is not too thin. This par- 

 tiality for lime is shown in the smoothness of bark, the straightness of 

 trunks, and their freedom from branches ; the annual growth is great, 

 and reproduction by natural means easy. In fresh, sheltered places on 

 lime, the beech bears seeds early (beginning about the seventeenth or 

 nineteenth year), and continues to do so at intervals of three to five years 

 and in abundance. 



Tlie Oak {Quercus sessilifoUa and Q. pedunculata) was relatively more 

 important among forest trees a century or two ago than now. Extensive 

 forests of this timber have since been cleared for cultivation, so that the 

 noblest forests are now among the hills. 



On account of diminishing supply and rising demand for oak timber 

 much has been done of late to promote its cultivation. Young trees 

 shelter the soil from the sun, but as they advance they demand more 

 light and room, so that many die unless seasonably thinned. In forests 

 the oak assumes greater dimensions when grown with other oaks alone, 

 for it may be laid down as a rule that it thrives best with the croicn free, 

 the stem sheltered and in shade, and the foot under covering. The Q.pedun- 

 •culata is disposed to develop many branches but where this is not pos- 

 sible (as in forests of beech and oak) the stem is straight and free from 

 branches to 70 or 80 feet, and the whole height 100 to 130 feet. The 

 tap root penetrates 5 or 6 feet in good soil, so that the subsoil is of 

 •great importance in its growth and quality. Moderately cleft and in- 

 clined limestones, and the milder clay slates, the richer sandstones and 

 marls, granite, basalt, greenstone and clayey porphyry, and good peat 

 are favorable subsoils for both kinds of oak, as they generally continue 

 fresh, and are not apt to hold water. The timber of this kind is of fine 



