AMONG THE OAKS 99 
our hardwoods, not even excepting the ash. And 
this natural characteristic must always be taken 
into account in growing it for profit as a crop 
of timber. 
The oak is suitable for growing in every kind 
of wood, It is the best of hedgerow trees, for it 
neither robs the soil of food intended for the 
crops, nor tends to hinder the plough by throwing 
out long shallow roots like ash and elm, nor does 
it injure the crops by overshadowing to so great 
an extent as some trees. In coppice for tanning- 
bark it used to be a good form of investment, 
yielding a quick and profitable return in the days 
before the English market was spoiled first by 
cheaper foreign bark and then by still cheaper ex- 
tracts and chemicals. Its resistance, both in branch 
and root, to the violence of storms makes it, no 
less than for its beauty, the tree most suitable for 
parks and pasture-lands. Its value makes it one 
of the most desirable of the standard trees in 
copsewoods, where the comparatively light shade 
it casts on the underwood does not interfere un- 
duly with the growth of the latter. Finally, it 
forms an excellent crop in highwoods, though in 
this form it can best be grown along with the 
