Page:Timber and Timber Trees, Native and Foreign.djvu/42

 CHAPTER III.

ON THE FORM AND QUALITY OF TREES.

grown in sheltered places run up quickly and to a great height; they also produce the greatest length of clear stem, the upward development preventing the growth of branches low down. This is probably owing to the want of sufficient light and air to enable them to respire freely, and in situations where it occurs the texture of the wood is soft in comparison with that of trees grown in the open. They have, however, the compensating advantage of being very free from local defects.

Many trees, as, for example, the Oak, when grown in hedge-rows, or other exposed and isolated places, enjoying a healthy circulation of air, take a freer and, perhaps, more natural form of growth; the branches generally occurring lower down, and meeting with no obstacle to their development, they assume every variety of curve, and produce timber which is especially valuable for naval purposes. Timber thus grown is of the hardest and most compact kind, although subject to many defects from the want of shelter from cold winds; the occasional breakages of the branches from various causes; and the injudicious lopping or pruning, which is too often practised.