I02 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
suggest to anyone carrying out conversion of this sort, to embrace 
the opportunity to plant new kinds of trees, such for instance 
as Cryptomeria japonica, Thuya gigantea, and Picea sitchensts. 
The two former grow well here on sand or clay, and the latter on 
clay. I have also planted Pinus ponderosa, but so far I have 
not found conditions suitable to enable it to grow quickly 
enough to hold its own in the struggle with other species. 
Now as to the financial results. It is more than probable 
that the first question a landowner will ask when this course of 
treatment of his coppice-woods is proposed to him, will be—‘‘ What 
will be the immediate effect on the income from these woods? 
I can quite understand that my children and grandchildren will 
benefit. They will no doubt have trees go to roo feet high 
where I have never had anything over 45 feet, and will get a 
much bigger yield per acre, but what shall I get for the first 
eighteen years after conversion?” And the answer is not 
altogether simple or easy. Presuming that there are plants at 
4 feet apart, there will be 2722 trees of all sorts per acre to 
begin with. It will not be desirable to reduce the stool-shoots 
retained much below 4 shoots per stool for the first six or 
eight years, but by the eighteenth year the plants should be 
reduced to 680, and the intervals increased to 8 feet, so 
that between the ninth and eighteenth year about 2000 poles 
will have been cut out and disposed of. These will be chiefly of 
oak, ash, chestnut, and sycamore. In different localities the price 
realised for these will vary very greatly, but if it be put at 2d. 
per pole, it comes to £16, 13s. 4d. per acre, which is considerably 
above the average price realised for the periodic fall of coppicing 
in this country. At half that price the loss (if any) would be 
more than counterbalanced by increased value of the crop left 
standing, which at 14 cubic feet per tree would be about 1000 
feet per acre, and this at 6d. per cubic foot would be equal to 
#25, as compared with the five pounds’ worth of timber left 
standing after a fall of coppice. 
As to the cost of replanting, I must admit that it is almost 
impossible to fix a figure for all cases. First of all, the number of 
stools left per acre will vary, and in consequence the number of 
young trees required will also vary; and afterwards the cost of the 
young trees will vary very greatly. According to my experience, 
it is cheaper in every way to plant nothing under 3 feet high, and 
I prefer 4 to 6 feet high wherever the exposure is not excessive. 
