114 JOURNAL OF THE EOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



largely to raise the fertility of a forest soil. Anything that 

 reduces the fertility of the soil at the same time lowers the 

 quality of the timber, for the more plant-food there is available, 

 so much more the hgnine will be formed, and so much the 

 better will the timber be able to resist decay. Although narrow- 

 ringed coniferous timber is usually of higher quality than that 

 which has broad rings, this is by no means a universal law, 

 and only holds good when slowness of growth is due to retardation 

 of cambium activity owing to temperature, but never when slow- 

 ness of growth is due to poverty of soil. Other things being 

 equal, the best timber — dicotyledonous as well as coniferous — is 

 produced on the best soil, and anythmg that prejudicially affects 

 the fertility of the soil will react on the quality of the timber. 



In the case of light-crowned and hght-demanding trees, such 

 as the Larch, it is impossible to crowd the woods sufficiently to 

 secure the full results of the beneficial effects of shading on the 

 boles and ground, and so resort should be had either to under- 

 planting, or to even-aged mixing with some dense-foliaged or 

 shade-bearing tree, which will impart the beneficial effects of 

 shade while allowing the Larches to be kept sufficiently thin for 

 successful growth. 



In order to produce high-class timber, sylvicultural operations 

 require to deal with wooded areas of considerable size. It is 

 quite hopeless to expect much retarn in timber from narrow 

 strips of trees planted for ornament or shelter. Such woods 

 may give a large return by beautifying a landscape or sheltering 

 agricultural or pastoral land, but it is asking too much to demand 

 a rent from the land in the shape of forest produce as well. If 

 a belt of trees is designed primarily for purposes of shelter, it 

 should be managed from the first with a view to securing this 

 end, and the production of timber should be a subject of quite 

 secondary importance. If a narrow strip of trees is to 3'ield 

 permanent shelter, it must always be kept so thin that the trees 

 shall interfere with each other as little as possible. Only in this 

 way will the lower branches, which are most instrumental in 

 breaking the force of the wind, be preserved alive, and the trees 

 be induced to provide themselves with a plentiful supply of roots 

 to withstand violent gales. At once we see that a shelter-belt 

 must produce extremely coarse timber. If the attempt is made 

 to secure shelter and good timber, then it is quite certain that dis- 



