The Beech as a Commercial Tree.
There can be no doubt that the oak takes precedence of all our forest trees, both on account of its place in English hearts, and its visible expression of strength and durability. The lover of Nature, too, sees in it the emblem of all that is grand and beautiful, its mighty trunk, great spread of branches, and dignity of age. Nevertheless, the beech takes a firm hold of our sympathies, and, as an ancient writer has observed, it may be looked upon as the Venus among trees. There are in the tree a few characteristics which belong to no other, and which lend a charm all its own; the lovely canopy of green, the high columnar trunk, standing grey among the greenery, and the great open space beneath, broken only by the lovely green of the holly bushes which almost invariably attend it. The view through the forest glade is unobstructed by coppice growth, for no bushes but the holly will grow beneath its spread of branch.
What can be more beautiful than the open glade, carpeted with the brown leaves of the late autumn, the dark glossy holly leaves and the tall grey columns?
Commercially, too, when in quantity and well grown, it is universally valuable; and the quantity which an acre, well stocked, will produce is very great.
The tree, though the fact is questioned by many old writers, is doubtless indigenous, though not confined to these small islands; for it is found throughout Middle and Southern Europe, Western Asia, and elsewhere.
The beech belongs to the natural order Amentaceæ, or Cupuliferæ, as some prefer to call it, and to the genus Fagus. It is monœcious, leaves simple and deciduous, and its fruit is known as mast. From the mast, or nut, may be extracted a valuable oil, used for culinary purposes, and also a flour or meal, used in some countries as food for man. In this country it is used only as pig food, and it is from this that the term “masting” is derived.
The leaves, enormous in quantity, decay rapidly, and soon become incorporated in the soil, thus providing the food which the tree requires. Beneath this natural carpet the seeds lie, and with the admission of light and air, soon grow and develop. There is no British tree which lends itself so completely to natural reproduction; neither can any artificially planted beech compare with these natural offspring for rapid growth and quality of timber.
It is not necessary to point out to the owners of beech estates the importance of managing the natural thicket from infancy to maturity, because such is known already and recognised; and if an example of sound British forestry be wanted, it is to these areas we should turn. Nevertheless, there are many estates with few or no beeches growing upon them which are naturally suitable to their full development.
Under these conditions it is necessary to resort to artificial stocking, and here lies the difficulty, for the beech is by no means a tree which lends itself to rapid establishment. Whether such is best performed by the sowing of seed, planting of seedlings, or of nursery trees of more advanced age, is a question for foresters. Again, is it well to plant pure and close together, or to plant with Scots pine, larch, or other trees? Opinions vary, and no decisive advice seems requisite.
As a natural seedling the beech will find its way through almost any tangle and force its way to the light, hindered only by the thick canopy of the parent, but as a transplant its vigour is defective.
The beech may be divided into two classes—the beautiful wide-spreading tree of the park, with its branches sweeping the sward; and the tall, straight column, topped with a canopy of lovely green—branchless for, perhaps, fifty feet and more.
It is to the latter that the merchant looks for his supply of timber, and to which the owner looks for his revenue. The former, through its charm, lends to the estate a value by no means inconsiderable; but the latter, under favourable conditions, yields so regular a return that it may be reduced to a yearly revenue. Under proper management there should be a continual cutting and a continuous and progressive growth: there should be no periods of vacancy.
If some of the schemes for the planting of waste lands—many of them wild and impractical—should reach ripeness, it is to be hoped the beech will be planted on soils suitable to its development—and these are calcareous loams resting on a rocky bottom—because there is likely to be a demand at a fair price, this class of timber not being much affected by foreign imports.
Beech reaches a useful and commercial value in from forty to sixty years when growing naturally close together, and under proper and judicious thinning; but if such be left until decay sets in, the value per cubic foot is greatly diminished. Trees will, of course, live and grow for a much longer period; but after, say, eighty years, it is doubtful economy to let them stand.
Another feature in the beech is that when decay once sets in it is rapid in its progress, and the tree dies as a whole. The oak will live for centuries in a decayed and dying condition, but not so the beech; and it is only when the timber is sound that the best price can be obtained. It is, too, a timber which soon stains if exposed, so that conversion should follow cutting.
What is necessary for the successful growing of beech may be summed up in a few words: A suitable soil, close contact, felling when commercially ripe, and speedy conversion.
C. E. Curtis.