APPLICATION OF THE METHOD. 67 



the maintenance of the oak and to allow each of the 

 associated species to assume its relative proportion 

 in the mixture. For this purpose, it must be re- 

 membered that in old crops the elms, the ash and 

 the maples never form leaf-canopy, but occur merely 

 scattered about here and there. On this account too 

 many are not to be reserved on the same spot. The 

 sycamore maple especially has a rapid growth and 

 a thick cover, while it does not attain a great age. 

 In the thinnings, the proportioning between the 

 various species must be continued, never losing sight 

 of the oak, and the shorter lived trees must be felled 

 as they acquire respectively a marketable size. It 

 might be feared that in so doing none of the latter 

 would be left at the moment of the ensuing regenera- 

 tion, but these species generally have a light seed, 

 which we know by experience is wafted to great 

 distances. If there be only a few of them in the 

 neighbouring pole crops, we are sure to obtain a 

 sufficient number of seedlings during the whole 

 period of regeneration. 



VI. SUMMAEY OF THE TEEATMENT OF HIGH OAK 

 FOEEST. 



In recapitulation, the rules relating to the treat- 

 ment of high oak forest may be summed up as 

 follows : 



The oak should never be grown by itself, if we 

 wish to obtain the most useful produce it can furnish. 



Its regeneration should be obtained by self-sown 

 seedlings and introducing it artificially should only 

 be a complementary measure. 



