HIGH FOREST WITH COPPICE 



213 



At the end of the rotation of the overwood there should 

 be about 500 vigorous stools per acre, and amongst these 

 about 650 Ash and Larch should be planted so as to per- 

 petuate the system. They should be evenly distributed over 

 the whole area ; no tree should be planted nearer than 6 feet 

 to any healthy stool; and the trees should generally be in 

 small groups of 5 to 9, each species kept separate and 

 planted 4 feet apart from each other. 



A rotation of 14 to 16 years will be quite enough for the 

 underwood, 1 or the Larch and Ash will get suppressed, and 

 even with this length of rotation the underwood must be 

 very carefully kept from injuring the future overcrop. 



When the Ash and Larch are planted, it will be cheaper 

 to fence the whole area against rabbits, provided it is over 10 

 acres in extent, and provided the trees were otherwise going 

 to be protected with small wire guards, costing id. each. 



If guards of tarred felt could be erected at a cost of Jd. 

 each, the fencing of the whole area would only be cheaper if 

 it were 30 acres in extent or over. 



TABLE showing the working of above example in perpetuo. 



* This of course depends on the success of the previous planting. 



If, when the coppice is first cut over, it appears that the 



1 A longer rotation is indicated for ordinary coppice with standards, 

 as the standards are of various ages, and the trouble of freeing the 

 youngest age class is comparatively little. 



