APPLICATION OF THE METHOD. 55 



maintenance of the soil in a moist state, the final 

 cutting may be undertaken ; this will remove all the 

 reserves still left standing. There is indeed no 

 object in leaving the beech to attain an exceptional 

 size, and the superficial character of its roots would 

 seldom allow it to withstand isolation. 



The more the soil is liable to dry up, and the 

 more the wind is to be feared owing to elevation or 

 aspect, with so much the greater prudence must the 

 regeneration of the beech be effected. In the 

 vicinity of mountain ridges and passes and at the 

 higher limit of vegetation, it ma.y even become 

 necessary to keep the forest constantly full, and to 

 apply what is known as the selection method ; but 

 this will be treated of later on. 



IMPROVEMENT CUTTINGS. Gleanings. Cleanings 

 are much less urgent for the beech than for the oak, 

 because it is better adapted to withstand the action 

 of cover. Still they are always useful, and may even 

 become necessary wherever maple and elder are 

 numerous. The latter indeed is useless, and the 

 beech might disappear if subjected for too long a 

 period to the cover of the maple. Nevertheless, 

 taking into consideration the various purposes for 

 which the maple is used, it would be an error to get 

 rid of it wholesale ; on the contrary, a certain 

 number must be preserved here and there to be 

 removed later on in the thinnings when they have 

 reached a useful size. 



THINNINGS. Like almost all trees possessing a 

 thick cover, the beech grows well in a dense canopy. 

 This circumstance, added to the fact that it is fre- 



