Chapter VI Trees for Economic Planting
From a commercial point of view the best trees to plant are such as will produce the largest volume of the most valuable timber in the shortest space of time.
Amongst the several hundred species of trees that are cultivated in this country it is a remarkable fact that less than twenty can be recommended for profitable planting. Of course many others are valuable as shade and shelter producers, but from a strictly economic point of view, that is to say where the value of the timber is a point of first consideration, only about ten hard-wooded and eight coniferous species can be included in the list.
Amongst hardwoods we have the oak, ash, beech, sycamore, elm, Spanish chestnut, willow, poplar, alder and birch; while coniferous trees would include the larch, Scotch and Corsican pines, common and Sitka spruce, silver and Douglas firs, and possibly the giant Arborvitæ and Weymouth pine.
The Oak.—Than the timber of the oak none other produced in this country is more lasting or valuable—indeed, in few other trees are the qualities of strength and durability, hardness and elasticity combined to such an extent. As might be expected, however, the value of oak timber is greatly influenced by soil, that produced on deep, heavy loam or clay lands being of superior quality. The colour of the wood also varies greatly with age from a dark grey to a deep rich brown and even green. Brown oak, which is almost confined to the Midland counties of England, is considered to be wood in the first stage of decay, and attacked by a fungus, and is generally associated with trees that are long past their prime and whose larger limbs have become hollowed and unhealthy. The finest examples I have seen of brown oak were produced at Ampthill in Bedfordshire, and on the Welbeck Estate in Notts. The beautiful vivid green colour assumed by oak timber under certain conditions is due to the action of the fungus Peziza æruginosa. As this colouring matter in the timber is quite permanent and cannot be destroyed, wood so affected is eagerly bought up by the makers of fancy furniture. Unhealthy or dead trees in damp shady positions are most often attacked by the fungus, and we have known timber of the oak when left lying about in the woodlands to assume this colour. Owing to the scarcity and value of green oak timber experiments have been undertaken to produce the colouring by artificial means, but as far as we are aware the results were not satisfactory. The best examples of green oak timber that we have seen were produced in Kent, and in the North of Ireland.
The Ash.—When viewed in a purely economic sense the ash must, next to the oak, be considered as our most valuable forest tree. The massive, deeply fluted, or cylindrical trunk, the weighty swelling branches, and the usually pendant masses of the freshest pea-green foliage, all combine to render this tree one of the most majestic for ornamental planting, but particularly so when associated with others that are of a darker shade of green. The ash is indigenous to Europe, Northern Africa, and North America, while throughout the British Isles it is widely dispersed.
It thrives tolerably well in most soils and situations, but the finest timber is produced in fairly sheltered sites, and where the soil is rich and open or freely interspersed with loose rock or stones. In order to produce clean, springy timber, such as is in request for the making of tool-handles, aeroplanes and agricultural implements, the ash should be planted thickly in order to induce straight stems that are for the greater part destitute of branches. For black, peaty soils, or that of a dampish, loamy character the sapling ash is peculiarly suited, in which, after being cut over, it will reproduce itself freely. At from thirty to forty years’ growth the ash is most valuable for handle wood and for agricultural implements.
The timber is hard, heavy, and flexible, and though rapidly grown it is tough and elastic above that of any other tree grown in this country, hence its universal employment for machinery and other special purposes where great strength, combined with yielding powers, are points of first consideration. Few timbers become useful at such an early age as does the ash. At from four to six years’ growth it is fit for walking sticks, for spade handles at ten years, while after that age the uses to which it is applied are very numerous and diverse. For the cartwright, the agricultural implement maker, carpenter, cooper and turner, it is of special value. No timber has been found to equal it for the making of oars, pulleys, blocks, ladders, hoops, and crates. Owing to its sawing without splintering it is used for milkpails, kitchen tables, staircases, and similar purposes, while when of large size it is greatly in demand for furniture making.
For smoking herrings ash wood has a certain local demand. Potash is procured from the ashes of the branches, and the bark has a special value in the tanning of nets.
The Beech.—For profitable planting the beech is one of our most valuable trees, while it has the extra recommendations that it grows rapidly, succeeds well in the shade, and reproduces itself freely.
The finest beech timber is produced on chalky or deep sandy soils, the former being preferable as may be instanced by the comparatively high price obtained for that grown on the Chiltern Hills and chalky formations of parts of Kent and Herts. The growth of the beech is rapid and it attains its prime at from sixty to seventy years, after which age the timber often becomes black at the heart and accompanied by rottenness and shakes which render it almost useless for constructive purposes. It is better suited for indoor than outdoor use and is extensively used in the making of Windsor chairs, for millwright and engineering purposes, for the handles of carpenters’ tools, for bobbins and, when clean and of large size, for the calendar machines of cloth manufactures.