156 MODERN FOREST ECONOMY. 



instead or being dispersed equally among the others ; and 

 the removal of them occasions an unequal exposure of the 

 soil, and of the younger shoots, which is contrary to the 

 very spirit of Furetage ; and further, from whatever cause 

 it comes about, there is a very great diversity in the 

 cubic measurement of the produce from exploitation in 

 this method, which has given occasion for incessant 

 modifications, and temporary suspensions of it, and for 

 discussions. From all which many have arrived at the 

 conclusion borne out by facts that it is a method of 

 exploitation which is uncertain in its results and ill- 

 defined. 



In the Pyrenees the formulas laid down for direction 

 are very variable, and various. In some cases two periods 

 of exploitation are established, in other cases three; and 

 the prescriptions vary much with time and place. 

 According to some, it is required to cut all shoots of a 

 prescribed girth, and leave all others; and the measure- 

 ment varies considerably. According to another prescrip- 

 tion, all spreading shoots, all isolated shoots, all shoots 

 under a certain size, and all shoots bearing secondary 

 shoots of a certain size, should be reserved. But in the 

 application of the rule great diversities are seen. A 

 modification of this, determining more fully what shoots 

 are to be reserved, has been proposed, but again variations 

 occur in the practical application of this. For a time it 

 was customary to reserve from amongst the most vigorous 

 growing trees from fifty to sixty standards on every hec- 

 tare, but this was abandoned on the ground that these 

 standards were virtually bastard timber trees ; and by 

 some there has been advocated the reservation of a certain 

 number of veritable balliveaux, trees reserved to supply seed. 



By Professor Bagneris in his Manuel de Silviculture, pub- 

 lished in 1873, it is remarked that the coppice woods 

 treated thus were at that time little known, and had 

 perhaps not been sufficiently studied. Thus may the 

 diversities mentioned be accounted for, 



