The publication of Woodlands by Oliver Rackham, No 100 in the Collins New Naturalist series is a noteworthy event. Like many young naturalists, starved of books by the austerity of war, the appearance of the series in 1945 was a great stimulus. I remember buying No 1, Butterflies by E.B. Ford, with earnings from potato picking, and for a time the collecting urge added each new volume as it appeared. I cannot remember how much I paid for the early acquisitions and most of the dust-jackets have long since gone except for that of No 14, The Art of Botanical Illustration (2nd edition) by Wilfrid Blunt, retained for its flower picture which cost 45s. net.

The quality of the series has, of course, varied and not all have the appeal and flare for me as had Wilfrid Blunt, Insect Natural History by A.D. Imms, British Amphibians by Malcolm Smith, and The World of the Soil by Sir E. John Russell (or even British Game by Brian Vesey-Fitzgerald, no longer PC?) which have become well used, old friends. Some other volumes are rather pedestrian, grinding their way through ‘plant or animal group’ on heathland/ sea shore/ mountain/ etc, etc without imparting any of the excitement or desire to find out more that the group deserves.

When No 100 was published, I had no doubt about getting it. To have Nos 1 and 100 on my shelf seemed to be a nice symmetry. More to the point was that I knew that Oliver would have a fresh, interesting and personal approach to his subject. I worked with him, admittedly before he became known for his work on woodland, but his wide ranging knowledge was always good for an interesting slant on the work in hand. An investigation into rooting patterns in barley was enlivened by his recognition of fragments of Roman pottery in an observation trench while the header tank used to supply irrigation water was supported by a wooden stand made with mediaeval pattern wooden joints.

As anticipated, his approach to woodlands and to woodland natural history is unique and personal, as he explains in his foreword. His support of the amateur with a long association with a natural area who can contribute just as much as a three year PhD student with all the resources of a modern lab may give confidence to the observant but shy.

Throughout the book there are interesting snippets. A current interest of mine is the dispersal of cyclamen plants originating from two corms planted under oak trees about 10 years ago, now spread widely by ants. Gorse also has a seed which is attractive to ants; watching them heaving away at gorse seeds placed near a nest is a pleasant digression for a sunny afternoon. I had not thought, however, that grass seeds might be similarly dispersed, but Oliver has an interesting section on plant indicators of wildwood among which is Melica uniflora, where all the florets except one form a clump, the eliasome, attractive to ants.

Among most significant sections of the book yet to be read more thoroughly and digested are those dealing with the future and management of woodland are his chapters on Wildwood into Woodland, Wild and Planted Trees and Modern Forestry but his analysis on the current position of woodland are set out in the insightful Chapter 22, particularly ‘Woodland Nature Reserves’ (p.544) which should be required reading for all conservationists.