The effect of this operation is not to cure the disease, but by severing all connection with the brain, to prolong his working powers. This done, the animal ceases to feel the pain which troubled him before, and commences to use the diseased foot without giving it the slightest protection. The lameness, which was evidence of the care he bestowed upon it, passes away, and the foot, weakened by disease, resumes the work it did when in a sound condition. This tends to aggravate the mischief, and sooner or later to bring him to the hands of the knacker.
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.