IN THE BEECHWOODS i3i 
of the second chapter as to the apparent fact that 
prices in Britain for timber of all sorts are almost 
certain to rise considerably in the near future, 
and that this rise in price will be permanent and 
no mere flash in the pan. If these be duly con- 
sidered, and found worthy of acceptance, then 
the beech should henceforth acquire very much 
greater importance as a woodland tree than has 
hitherto been the case in this country. 
Grown in pure crops as a timber tree, beech 
has on limy soils great value as a producer of 
income, but, apart from this more or less local 
advantage, it will in many cases have a special 
value for assisting materially towards the best de- 
velopment of other and more remunerative kinds 
of wood by reason of its capacity for bearing 
shade, its protection of the ground through the 
overshadowing of its dense crown, and its en- 
richment of the soil through the formation of 
good mould by the dead leaves thickly shed 
each autumn. 
On account of its heavy crown of dense foliage 
it is ill suited as a standard in copse, or as a 
timber tree in hedgerows; but in highwoods of 
light-demanding trees, like oak, ash, larch, and 
