266 THE OAK. 
but it attains to a good size in sandy or gravelly ground, par- 
ticularly when it is composed of a clayey mixture; and it is 
found to luxuriate on ground of opposite qualities, and on 
that too poor to produce ash or elm timber. The roots of 
the oak penetrate to a greater depth than those perhaps of 
any other tree, and therefore its prosperity is the more de- 
pendent on the under stratifications of the soil. In rich 
sheltered glens and valleys, when associated with trees, it 
becomes lofty, with a tall trunk, while on the bare and ex- 
posed upland it is found dwarfed and bushy. Although it 
expands into leaf at a late period of the season, it is fre- 
quently blighted by late frosts, the slightest touch of which 
becomes visible on its foliage. A young oak plantation 
should, therefore, in exposed situations, be reared with other 
trees of faster growth ; and for this purpose, the larch, beech, 
Scotch fir, balm of Gilead, and spruce fir, are well adapted. 
In some bleak exposures it is necessary to have firs planted a 
few years previously, and three or four feet high at the time 
the oak plants are inserted. With shelter the young plant 
soon takes a powerful hold of the soil, and being tenacious of 
life it is rarely killed by confinement. When relieved, after 
being pretty closely sheltered, it often advances rapidly, and 
frequently produces summer and autumn shoots. These 
autumn or Lammas growths are peculiar to the oak and a few 
other timber trees, while young and vigorous. 
In plantations or close woods, the tree, during the early 
stages of its growth, is generally erect and pliant; but by 
and by its habits become altered. Just before its top reaches 
its full height, which is regulated much by soil and exposure, 
its ramifications become more marked and dignified. But the 
form and outline of a tree in a close plantation are always 
influenced by physical circumstances. Its natural habit of 
growth can only be known when it stands alone. Then the 
monarchical character of the British oak becomes fully deve- 
loped in the boldness of its outline; its roots are seen to form 
a spreading basis on the surface, and to mark their sure foun- 
dation in the soil; the magnitude and massive compactness 
