DEPLETED SANDY BARRENS 39 



the remainder may be removed and handled as the first. 

 When the growth removed does not pay for the expense of 

 •cutting, however, the practice becomes a questionable one. 

 The expense question should be constantly kept in mind. It 

 must be taken into consideration that the first expense of estab- 

 lishing growth is the principal from which interest must con- 

 tinually accrue and that profits are those returns over and 

 above this. The smaller the first cost the greater the chances 

 for financial success. 



In many sections of New England brick yards are great con- 

 sumers of cord wood, and if the hardwoods are cut as soon as 

 large enough for this purpose the old stumps will sprout again, 

 -giving what is known as coppice wood. This is a profitable 

 .and quick method of growing this kind of wood. Along the 

 sea-coast, where this growth reaches a good size, the poles 

 .are used for holding fishing nets, and bring a good price. 

 Small coppice wood is also often valuable for cooperage, etc. 

 Coppice wood is usually cut at ages varying from fifteen to 

 thirty years and is, therefore, not so much depended upon for 

 lumber. Lumber can be grown from coppice by thinning but 

 the usual practice here is to sow seed or transplant seedlings. 

 Telegraph poles and railroad ties can also be grown from 

 coppice, if the growth is allowed to stand a period of thirty- 

 five or forty years. Well-established coppice averages about 

 one cord of wood per acre per year of growth. A coppice 

 wood that is twenty-five to thirty-five years of age should yield 

 about that many cords. 



Pine, spruce, and conifers in general do not reproduce them 

 selves by coppice. These start from seed. 



5. Depleted Sandy Barrens. 



There is much land in various sections of the state that is 

 largely worthless to-day which originally was covered with a 

 valuable forest growth. These sandy soils should never have 

 been allowed to be cleared and thus deprived of their forestal 

 covering which was invaluable to them in retaining moisture 

 and plant food so necessary for tree life. The only thing to be 

 done to these depleted lands is by some means to get new 

 growth started so that former conditions can be returned. 



