494 OAK COPPICE. [Dec. 



and managed in a systematic manner, part being cut over every 

 year or so according to the extent, they form a very useful and, in 

 some situations, a most ornamental screen to those parts where tall- 

 growing trees might be objectionable. 



Whatever be the extent of coppice plantations on an estate, they 

 should be apportioned and treated in succession. If there is 

 sufficient acreage to allow a portion to be cut over every season 

 successively, it is beyond all question the most judicious and 

 profitable plan ; this method enables the forester and proprietor to 

 have an almost accurate estimate of the expense that is to be 

 annually incurred in the rearing and cutting over of these, and 

 keeps up an almost regular annual income from the plantations. 

 If, for example, an enclosure of about 100 acres is divided into, 

 say, four portions of about equal size, — according to soil and other 

 local peculiarities, — and one of these cut over every five years, it 

 keeps up the ornamental appearance of the district much better 

 than if the whole plantation were cut over at one time. Another 

 important advantage, especially in high-lying and exposed situations, 

 is, that it tends to keep up the shelter that stock and crops derive 

 from tlie proximity of plantations. Tlie preservation of shelter 

 should always form a primary consideration in determining the 

 extent that is to be cut over in one season. 



In very exposed situations, where shelter is really indispensable 

 to the increased fertility and proper cultivation of the soil, as also 

 to the health of the stock, it is almost impossible to ever-estimate 

 the bad effects that follow its sudden removal. Yf hen the produc- 

 tiveness of the soil has been increased by the influence of plantations, 

 it is of paramount importance that it should be continued ; when it 

 is injudiciously and suddenly removed, the soil not only decreases 

 in productiveness, but in some instances we have seen it incline to 

 return to its pristine sterility. Wherever shelter is a primary 

 object, it should be the aim of the forester, in apportioning and 

 arranging the time of cutting over the plantation, to preserve as far 

 as possible a certain amount of shelter to the district. This and 

 the proportion of any plantation that is to be cut over in one 

 season must be determined by a careful study of the peculiarities of 

 the situation, nature of the soil, etc. 



Time for Cutting. — No absolute law can be laid down regarding 

 the exact age at which oak coppice should be cut over ; this can 

 only be properly determined by the appearance of the crop, whicli 

 to a considerable extent depends on the soil, situation, exposure, 

 and method of rearing. It is from tlie appearance and condition of 

 the bark that the most profitable time to cut must be determined. 

 On damp soils the bark is frequently covered with mosses and 



