386 
Cutting Beech Woods. 
the circumstances, tlirow mast or seed, whicli sows itself and which springs 
up naturally. The young trees throw mast ; but the trees do not throw 
mast plentifully till they contain about twenty or thirty cubic feet of wood. 
Beech, which thus naturally maintains succession, differs in this respect 
from oak, which, although it will grow from the acorn which falls naturally, 
yet requires, in order that it may thrive well, assistance from the hand of 
man in planting. A beech ten years only is no bigger than a walking stick. 
At tw'enty years it has, say, five cubic feet of wood ; at thirty, about ten or 
twelve ; from thirty to sixty, from about forty to fifty cubic feet ; between 
thirty and sixty it puts on wood more rapidly ; after sixty or seventy years 
it begins to decay. The above figures as to age and cubic feet are only 
approximate. The growth and decay of the tree vary with the nature of 
the soil and situation. On a good soil and in a favourable position the 
decay does not begin till some time after the tree has reached the age of 
sixty or seventy years. Now in going through the woods periodically to 
see what trees ought to be cut down, the proper course is to select the 
larger trees and the trees that are growing awkwardly or stand in the way 
of other trees that are thriving and growing well. The reason for selecting 
the larger trees is this; The beech growing in the wood throws out a large 
spreading top, like an umbrella, and the large trees with their wide tops 
deprive the trees under them of light and air ; they also injure them by the 
drip that falls. The other trees in the wood, whether beech, or oak, or ash, 
or elm, cannot grow under the shade of the larger beech trees. To cut the 
larger trees then is to allow the smaller trees to live and thrive, and is 
necessary to maintain a proper succession. To cut the smaller trees, or 
merely to thin the underwood, would be to destroy the rising generations, 
and annihilate the succession. After a given number of years, if the smaller 
trees were cut down a few large trees would be left standing ; when these 
trees were cut down the place would be bare, and tbe wood destroyed. 
During the argument a metaphor was used, not inappropriately, by way of 
illustration ; the grandfathers are removed to make way for the fathers and 
sons, so that they in their turn may become grandfathers and fathers, and 
thus each successive generation is duly brought to maturity. 
In regard to the customs alleged, it was not proved that there is any such 
custom prevailing throughout the county of Buckingham. But in regard to 
the custom alleged in that part of the county of Buckingham where tbe West 
Wycombe estate is situate, it was proved that such a custom exists in the sense 
presently explained. This custom was shown to extend to the adjoining county 
of Oxford, where beech is not timber. In regard to the West Wycombe 
estate itself, the custom alleged was proved in the same sense. In the 
language of Mr. Vernon, a skilled witness for the plaintiffs, it is a magni- 
ficent estate for the growth of beech timber. The wood books of the estate 
from 1798 to the death of Sir George were produced and proved by tbe 
plaintiffs themselves. The cuttings of Sir George’s predecessor, Sir J. Dash- 
wood King, during the fifty years he was in possession of the estate, averaged 
an annual 1,709/., and, t.aking into consideration that lower prices were then 
probably retilisable, his cuttings exceeded those of his successors. The price of 
beech has since risen in consequence of the increase, particularly during the 
last forty years, of the chair-making industry in the district. The acreage of 
the beech woods on the estate is not less than 1 ,000 acres. During Sir George’s 
possession from 1848 to 1802, the yearly average was 039 loads of fifty cubic 
feet, the maximum in any one year being 829 loads and the minimum 483 
loads. The late Lady Dashwood’s cuttings annually averaged during the 
twenty-seven years she occupied the estate 020 loads ; her maximum cut- 
tings in any one }’ear being 853 loads, and her minimum 402 loads. The 
evidence of the witnesses taken in connection with the wood books 
