ARBORICULTURE IN HAMPSHIRE. 31 



merit is to trench and replant." Such arguments are generally- 

 accepted by the Scottish forester, whose predilections are against 

 double cropping. He prefers single crops in all cases, whether 

 the produce is oak coppice or timber plantations. Underwood, 

 as a crop, he ignores, except for ornament, or as cover for game. 

 So far as Scotland is concerned, he is right, but in the south of 

 England the surrounding circumstances differ so widely that there 

 is practically no analogy between the two countries. In Scotland, 

 it is a common practice to burn brushwood, which in England 

 would be converted into bavins, puffs, or fagots, and realise a 

 handsome profit. Everything in our woods is turned to account, 

 even the roots and smallest twigs are disposed of. 



In agricultural districts, the rural population cannot always 

 find employment during winter ; and it is not unusual for labourers 

 to solicit permission to grub tree stools to sell for fuel. The roots 

 they arrange in cords of 4 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 8 feet long, 

 and sell them readily at 9s. per cord. When trenching by piece- 

 work, we sell the firewood ourselves, and consequently can calcu- 

 late on a considerable profit from this source, instead of paying 

 for burning. 



When a Scottish forester is entrusted with the management of 

 plantations in England, his first impulse is to eradicate the under- 

 growth, and cultivate the oak alone as a coppice wood. Acting 

 on this impression, he may do irreparable damage to a remunera- 

 tive crop. Great changes should only be made after mature 

 deliberation as to the financial result. He must consider whether 

 the increased growth of the timber trees, consequent on the removal 

 of the underwood, will compensate for the deficit caused by the 

 destruction of a crop periodically contributing to the income. 

 Oak-trees trained in an underwood coppice are purposely left at 

 wider intervals than if intended solely for coppice timber, and 

 consequently less lucrative as an independent crop. If a change 

 is desirable, the best time for effecting it is when the whole of the 

 timber and underwood is cleared. When oak stools predominate, 

 he will have no difficulty in selecting a sufficient number of 

 healthy shoots to constitute an oak coppice. In Somerset and 

 Devonshire this system is occasionally adopted, but with unsatis- 

 factory results. The whole of the shoots are allowed to grow 

 together for eight, ten, or twelve years, as the case may be. It is 

 then sold standing ; and two or three of the best stems on each 

 stool are reserved for the permanent crop. Previous to the sale, 



