210 THE ROTATION. 



forest, than the age when the trees have commenced to bear 

 good seed in sufficient quantity, nor as high as the age when 

 the production of good seed has ceased ; the best period being 

 that towards the end of the principal height growth. 



In the case of coppice woods the age must be below that at 

 which the trees cease to produce good healthy shoots when 

 cut over. 



Sometimes a second physical rotation is mentioned as that 

 which coincides with the natural lease of life of the trees. It 

 is only of interest in the case of protection forests, parks, etc. 



6. Choice of Rotation. 



The choice of rotation, or the age at which a wood is to 

 be cut over, is one of the most important questions in forest 

 management. Many and varied are the arguments which 

 have been brought forward in favour of the one or other 

 rotation. 



One party maintains that the financial aspect should decide 

 the choice of rotation, since forests represent capital, which 

 should yield the highest possible interest. Another party 

 brings the general usefulness more into the foreground, and 

 maintains that other considerations are more important to the 

 general community than purely financial results, especially 

 in the case of State forests. 



In the author's view, the " objects of management " should 

 determine the rotation. These frequently demand deviations 

 from the financial rotation. For instance, to begin with an 

 extreme case, for protection forests generally a very high 

 rotation is indicated ; where a nation considers it necessary 

 to produce timber fit for naval construction, a rotation which 

 lies far beyond the financial rotation is necessary ; where hop- 

 poles are wanted, a very low rotation would be called for ; in 

 cases where land is scarce and yet a certain quantity of wood 

 is wanted for existing industries, the rotation of the highest 

 production of produce is indicated; if a proprietor wishes 

 to invest capital so as to obtain the highest annual income, 



