58 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



off by rabbits or hares the wood never regains that straightness 

 of growth which constitutes its most desirable quality, and- the 

 number of weak shoots is increased. 



The method of combining coppice and timber-growing to- 

 gether, in what is known as " coppice with standards," cannot be 

 recommended on economic grounds. A short acquaintance with it 

 will soon convince"one that the timber so grown is rough and short 

 in the bole, or if sufficiently close to encourage height-growth, 

 then the coppice suffers from overshading. If the coppice is 

 worth growing at all it is much better to allow it full possession 

 of the ground as far as it goes, and confine the timber to another 

 part of the ground. A few of the best Ash " tellers," however, 

 may always be left standing over two or three rotations without 

 doing much harm, while they add to the value of the wood. 



Probably underwood owes its existence on many estates quite 

 as much to the cover it affords to game as to the profit attend- 

 ing its cultivation. For this reason it will probably survive in 

 many districts long after it has ceased to be a remunerative 

 crop. Unless prices recover, however, it will be to the estate 

 proprietor's advantage to confine it within as narrow limits as 

 possible, and gradually fill its place with timber-trees. 



Hedgerow Timbee. 



This, like coppice-wood, is principally confined to the 

 Southern Counties, and is a system of timber- growing pecu- 

 liar to this country. Oak and Elm constitute the great bulk of 

 this timber, but the latter may be regarded as the more repre- 

 sentative of the two. Probably most farmers look upon hedge- 

 row timber as more or less of a nuisance, and on arable land it 

 undoubtedly is so, by impoverishing the soil, choking drains, and 

 hindering the uniform maturing of the crops. On grazing land it 

 is beneficial in providing shelter for stock, whether from sun or 

 wind ; but, on the other hand, it is often responsible for the 

 wretchedly weak and patchy hedges so frequently met with on 

 South Country farms. Landlords who take an interest in 

 arboriculture, however, are usually reluctant to cut large timber 

 anywhere, while the warm and wooded appearance presented by 

 a country-side well stocked with hedgerow timber induces 

 many to tolerate its presence with a cheerful mind. Apart 

 from the tenant-farmer's point of view, the maintenance of a 



