212 ON NATURAL COPriCE WOOD 



expense of removing large sized and full grown timber is almost 

 equal to its value. In such places a crop of coppice wood, con- 

 sisting of sycamore or ash, would generally grow very rapidly, 

 and could be worked and removed at a great deal less expense 

 than full grown timber. Most of the counties of Scotland are 

 intersected with numerous streams, some of which have their 

 banks clothed with trees, but in many cases these are very 

 stunted and unhealthy. Owing to the banks being narrow and 

 steep, the trees are often liable to be partly submerged at the 

 time of a spate. And the small extent of ground that is found 

 to be available for planting is often not considered to he worth the 

 expense of a protecting fence. Under these, and similar circum- 

 stances, natural coppice would be a much more remunerative 

 crop than the trees that are generally grown on these places. 



In the year 1859 we cleared a crop of natural coppice from the 

 banks of the Nethen and one of its tributaries in the county of 

 Lanark; this crop consisted for the most part of alder and birch, and 

 was sold for the manufacture of gunpowder at 18s. per ton peeled. 

 They had grown about twenty-five years, and the estimated yield 

 per acre was about L.16. The greater part of this coppice was cut 

 from narrow and steep banks that were not considered worth 

 the cost of a protecting fence, and they had apparently never 

 received any thinning, so that there had been no expense what- 

 ever connected with the growth of this crop. The ground 

 occupied could scarcely be considered worth any rent; but sup- 

 posing we value it at 5s. per acre, and allow 35s. for clearing 

 the crop, there is still a clear profit of L.8. Now it is on these 

 portions of peculiarly situated soils that are not properly suited 

 for the rearing of full sized trees, and that, except for the growth 

 of natural coppice, would be quite unproductive, that we consider 

 would be well worth the expense of being planted with those 

 trees that are best suited for growing as a coppice. Narrow 

 banks and slopes of streams are often left unplanted because the 

 expense of thoroughly enclosing the small extent of ground 

 would be greater than the profit to be derived from the crop. 

 But, except when newly planted, or when the crop is cut over 

 and the slioots young and tender, natural coppice (especially 

 birch and alder) does not require great protection, and in many 

 instances, both at the time, of planting and at each periodical 

 cutting, the fencing might be done at small cost, by arranging the 

 prunings of trees or thorn hedges in a form of a dead hedge. A 

 temporary protection of this kind will be found to last for a few 

 years till the young growths are to a certain extent beyond the 

 reach of serious damage from animals. There are other com- 

 paratively inexpensive methods of fencing, such as the turf dyke 

 and ditch, that might afford a permanent protection; but they 

 need not to be detailed here. 



