HEDGE-ROW TIMBER. 119 
the surface of the ground. The figure of trees varies con- 
siderably, according to their kinds, their age, and according to 
the physical circumstances in which they are placed ; such as 
soil, situation, climate, and above all,.to their proximity to 
other trees. Their natural form and outline under different 
circumstances can only be known when they stand alone. 
The sturdy oak alone in poor soil and cold elevated situa- 
“ tions becomes a bush ; in the rich and sheltered valley planta- 
tion it rises a lofty tree with a tall trunk. 
In the growth of useful hedge-row timber the English elm 
is the tree most generally cultivated in England. When a 
plant, it naturally forms a bushy reot; and if properly 
nursed it admits of removal at a size beyond that of most 
trees. Its figure is erect, and the spread of its branches does 
not extend very far. It forms a useful pollard, admits of 
being frequently lopped, and yields much useful timber in a 
short time. The suckers which it produces around its roots 
certainly form one of the greatest disadvantages to its being 
used along cultivated fields ; but that circumstance, yielding a 
supply of young plants, along with the advantages of the 
tree, no doubt accounts for its being cultivated so generally 
throughout England. 
Next to the elm, various sorts of oak are to be recom- 
mended as valuable hedge-row trees, although generally they 
do not stand so erect as the English elm; yet they are less 
destructive to the crops in their vicinity ; their roots generally 
strike deeper than most trees, and consequently are less de- 
pendent on the surface-soil for their support; and being late 
in expanding their leaves, they do not overshadow the crops 
in their vicinity early in the season. AJ] the common varie- 
ties of oak are adapted for hedge-rows. The ‘Turkey oak 
grows the fastest, and is of an upright figure, until very old, 
but it is less valuable as a timber tree than most other oaks. 
The ash is, in some districts, of very frequent occurrence as a 
hedge-row tree; but it is ruinous to grain crops within the 
range of its roots, and it can only be recommended along road- 
sides, meadow and pasture lands, and the like, in the absence 
