166 ON DIFFERENT MODES OF DISPOSING OF 



In calculating the value of this crop, the periodical thinnings, as well 

 as the continual increase in value of the permanent crop, must be 

 added to the sum received for underwood. I find by taking a 

 period of GO years, and adding the whole receipts, the two crops 

 combined will realise about L. 2 per acre for the land after deducting 

 expenses. In fertile districts the receipts are more, but seldom less, 

 even in an exposed situation and thin gravelly soil resting on chalk. 



Underwood is divided into convenient lots, and invariably sold 

 growing, either by auction or private sale. If the shoots are dis- 

 tributed regularly over the ground, the crop is sold by the acre; but 

 if the underwood is patchy, with large vacant spaces, it is generally 

 sold at so much per lot. The reason for selling by the lot in such 

 is to avoid the inconvenience of measuring and deducting the 

 vacant spaces, which it would be unfair to include when computing 

 the area. The rule in this neigbbourhood is to have the lots accu- 

 rately measured, and the contents entered in the catalogues previous 

 to the day of sale. This must be done with great care, as it is dif- 

 ficult to get straight lines where they are required in a full crop of 

 underwood. In some districts it is sold at so much per acre, without 

 stating the quantity; and when this is the case, the ground is mea- 

 sured after the crop is cleared. The advantages of this system are, 

 that the ground can be measured with less trouble and more 

 correctly; and the disadvantages, that the purchaser cannot ascertain 

 the quantity of underwood he is buying, and the auctioneer has no 

 data for demanding the usual deposit. On the whole, it is best to 

 measure the underwood previous to sale, and when this is carefully 

 done, errors seldom occur. 



Another description of woodland prevalent in the south of England 

 is termed " Gullies." Large tracts of low-lying marsh lands are 

 planted with alder, willow, poplar, and ash, and when judiciously 

 managed are highly remunerative. A good " gully" will pay a 

 rent of upwards of L.2 per acre after deducting expenses, and that 

 too for land almost worthless for agricultural purposes. Occasionally 

 wet plantations are thinned severely and converted into " gullies ;" 

 but gullies, par excellence, have no timber in them to exclude the 

 light and injure the valuable undergrowth. The produce is divided 

 into lots, and sold in the same manner as coppice underwood. If 

 the gully is free from timber and stagnant water, the usual price 

 is from L.21 to L.22 per acre for nine years' growth. As the 

 underwood is sold growing, and must be cut and cleared by the 

 purchaser, the expenses to be deducted are merely nominal. It is 



