58 ELEMENTS OF SYLVICULTUEE. 



and the conditions of soil and climate will not admit 

 of a greater number in the future, a rotation may be 

 chosen more nearly coinciding with that suitable to 

 the beech, only care must be taken to leave the oak 

 standing after the final cutting. 



PRIMARY CUTTING. As for either tree separately, 

 so in the mixture of oak and beech, the primary cut- 

 ting must be made close. The same precautions of 

 cleaning the soil and artificially raising the cover 

 must also be taken here. But it may be asked, in 

 what relative proportions should the two species 

 compose the reserve ? Clearly no definite rule can 

 be laid down on this head ; however, it may be 

 remarked that if it is advisable to have more seed- 

 lings of beech than of oak at the beginning, it is not 

 necessary, on that account, to reserve more beech 

 trees than oak ; for this reason, that the beechnut 

 falls further away from the parent tree than the acorn, 

 and the young beech plants thrive well under the 

 shelter of the oak, whereas oak seedlings die off 

 under the thick cover of the beech. Now, it must 

 not be forgotten that at first the oak grows slower 

 than the beech, and that the state of matters is bad 

 enough for the former, without making it still 

 worse. 



SECONDARY CUTTING. The secondary cutting 

 must not be undertaken before a crop of beech 

 seedlings exists on the ground. The constitution of 

 these seedlings is such that none will be obtained 

 under a crop that has been much opened out ; and 

 provided that a few oak plants are found evenly 

 distributed over the whole area, the proportion of 



