THE CONVERSION OF STORED COPPICE INTO HIGHWOOD. Io! 
having shot up before the ground was cleared, the ground 
was lined out with 6 foot “feering” poles, as one would 
line out land for ploughing, the men as they dug the holes 
im one line turning the poles end-over-end once to fix the 
next line, and so on. It is well to have plenty of these poles 
(say one to every 30 yards), so as to be able to keep the lines 
straight without difficulty. As no stools were grubbed out, and 
as only those which were worthless, such as hazel, etc., were 
destroyed, the distance of 12 feet between the planted trees 
could only be strictly maintained along the lines, the distance 
apart of the marking trees in the lines being as nearly 12 feet 
as the old stools would permit. I may say here that I selected 
common larch for this purpose in the belief that at such wide 
intervals, and separated by other trees, they would not suffer 
from canker; but in this I have been disappointed, and 
I am now using Douglas fir, and, where the exposure is 
too severe for these, Japanese larch. The intervals between 
the larch were filled in with ash, sycamore, and Spanish 
chestnut, and in wet spots and frost-holes alder and black 
‘Italian poplar were used. I am about to try elm also. The 
stools which were destroyed were treated with common 
agricultural salt, 2 to 4 lbs. being used per stool, according 
to its size, and they were covered with a turf to prevent the 
salt from being washed away, a precaution which I find 
necessary. This method of treating the stools gives satis- 
factory results, although the salt used has run up in one 
instance to as much as 8 or g cwts. per acre. 
Up to the present time I have made what I consider to be a 
mistake in “falling” right up to the boundary, and planting 
Scots and Corsican pine as a wind-guard. Instead of this, I 
should have left a belt of the coppice standing to answer that 
purpose, and I am now leaving intact a strip of standards and 
underwood 8 yards in width along the margin. 
Early clearance is of the utmost importance; and now that 
it no longer pays to strip oak, there should be less difficulty 
than heretofore in securing early clearance. My last three 
falls (including this year’s) have been subject to clearance by 
25th November, which gives December and January for preparing 
the ground for planting in February. This plan works fairly 
well, though a clearance by 25th October would be much better, 
as it would give some time for autumn planting. I would also 
