1 66 THE NEW FORESTRY. 



shrub or low tree that naturally prefer the shade of other 

 trees ; they all love the light, and what destroys underwood 

 so frequently in woods is shade. For planting as under-cover, 

 therefore, those species that bear shade best should be planted, 

 and no other. If this was done in a systematic way, in con- 

 junction with the scheme suggested in Chapter II., we can 

 conceive of thoroughly well timber-stocked areas on private 

 estates combined with game covert far superior to anything 

 yet attempted in that way 



The shade-bearers for under-planting are the spruce, 

 beech, hornbeam, holly, yew, rhododendron, and snowberry. 

 These are the best shade-bearers we have, and the beech 

 is the best in the list Young beech trees have the 

 advantage that although the leaves die and turn brown in 

 autumn they are not shed, but remain upon the branches 

 during winter, thus providing a warm shelter. We have often 

 seen the beech growing freely under the dense shade of deci- 

 duous trees, and German foresters often take advantage of it 

 for under-planting. The hornbeam ranks next to the beech, 

 and the other species mentioned are well known. The snow- 

 berry is perhaps not so well known as a shade-bearer, but we 

 can testify that it is one of the ,best for either fox or game 

 covert. It grows about seven feet high, extends by suckers, 

 which are thrown out freely, and owing to its erect habit and 

 close way of growing it collects the , dead leaves of other trees 

 between its leafless stems until quite a thicket is formed that 

 pheasants and other game birds and animals resort to during 

 winter. But our own inclination in planting an under-covert 

 of the kind here described would be to use the beech in a 

 proportion equal to all the others, and to plant thick either 

 over the whole area or in patches here and there. 



