144 OUR FORESTS AND WOODLANDS 
up the ground with their snouts and embed the 
seed well in the soil. 
The third specific felling, forming the ‘ gradual 
clearance’ of the old crop, extends over a long 
period, during which the rate of increase on the 
trees is large and profitable. It begins when the 
seedling crop is about two years old, and the rate 
at which it proceeds is mainly dependent on the 
thriving of the latter. Where the seedlings show 
themselves in want of more light and dew-fall, 
the old trees must be removed; otherwise it is 
profitable to retain the latter so long as they do 
not interfere in any marked degree with the 
growth of the young crop. Every two or three 
years the area regenerated must be gone over, 
and such trees removed as may seem necessary. 
On dry, warm exposures the clearance has usually 
to be effected within about six or eight years after 
the good mast year from which the birth of the 
young crop dates, but on the average it extends 
over ten or twelve years from then, and may even 
be prolonged over fifteen to twenty years on 
moist soils having a cool northern exposure. 
Beechwoods require a fair amount of tending. 
During the early cleanings and weedings coppice- 
