776 FOREST-LITTER. 



Only when other sources of supply fail should the removal 

 of ground-litter be permitted from the woods. The remaining 

 paragraphs refer to that mode of litter only. 



2. Locality. 



The better localities should be taken in hand first, the 

 inferior ones being spared as long as possible. Litter which 

 has been heaped up by the wind in wet places, on moist, low- 

 lying ground, in hollows, ravines or narrow valleys, and thick 

 cushions of moss in damp ground and on places about to be 

 regenerated naturally, may be utilized with the least damage 

 to the forest. There is sometimes in cold localities a stiff, 

 heavy soil, which is improved by removing the litter. The 

 north and east slopes of hills, with rich deep soil covered with 

 scattered blocks of stone or boulders, and terraces or gentle 

 slopes on mountain-sides, should always be preferred, the 

 more exposed places being used only as a last resort. Places 

 exposed to wind, such as hill-tops, mountain-ridges, steep 

 declivities and especially the upper parts of steep mountain- 

 chains, should be spared always. 



3. Nature of Crop. 



Vigorous, dense, mature crops of trees should be opened 

 for the removal of litter in preference to other parts of a 

 forest. All woods that are deteriorating for any reason 

 which have suffered from caterpillars, snow-break, wind-break, 

 drought, etc., or in which, from any cause, the leaf-canopy has 

 opened out (for instance, immediately after thinnings, pre- 

 paratory fellings, etc.) must be protected as long as possible 

 against the removal of litter. All woods intended for imme- 

 diate natural regeneration, and even-aged old woods ready for 

 felling may be opened, but all young woods, till they have 

 reached middle-age, should be spared. Litter should, as far 

 as possible, be preserved carefully in coppice- with -standards 

 and coppice, and especially in oak-bark coppice. 



4. Intensity of the Usage. 



Only undecomposed litter should be removed, that in pro- 

 cess of decomposition being preserved. This proviso cannot 



