AMONG THE OAKS 129 
the rotation of copse and coppice; for the tem- 
porary advantages of short rotation with frequent 
exposure of the soil to sun and wind would be 
in the end dearly bought by gradual deterioration 
of the land, as this would really mean diminution 
of its capital value; and that would be false 
economy, as well as bad Forestry. 
It seems hard, when writing of the oak, so 
intimately connected with the greatness of Britain, 
to feel compelled to refrain from giving a few 
details about some of the many historical and 
interesting oak trees to be found in different parts 
of the British Isles. But as this is a book on 
Forests and Woodlands, and not on Trees, space 
unfortunately forbids our wandering along these 
seductive by-paths and discoursing on the more 
purely esthetic side of British Arboriculture. 
