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midst of i In- oak coppice, mi tin- slopes and ridges, are numerous extensive fields 

 with rye, the pale given of which in early summer contrasts strangely with the 

 dark green c..loi- of the oak forest. These fields change their position from year 

 to year, so that ihe traveller who visits those hills in two successive years finds 

 the aspect of the landscape changed, though its general character remains the 

 same. Th high forest which covers the tops and ridges belongs to the State or 

 to large private proprietor-,, l>ut the vast areas of coppice which occupy the main 

 poi'tion of i his tract of country do not belong to the State or to private proprie- 

 tors, nor to (.own or village communities but to public corporations, commonly 

 regarded as the remains of the old '' Mark genossenschaften," which in the words of 

 tin- lair Sir Henry Maine, were " an organized, self-acting group of Teutonic 

 families, exercising a common proprietorship over a definite tract of land, its 

 mark, cultivating its domain on a common system and sustaining itself by the 

 produce." The coppice is managed on rotation of from 17 to 20 years (19 years 

 on an average), and the area assigned to each year's cutting is treated in this 

 in inner. Karly in spring (March, April) all soft woods, birch, hazel, aspen, and 

 others, as well as the most slender shoots of the oak coppice, are cut out, the 

 operation proceeding from the bottom ef the valley upwards. At the same time 

 the poles intended to be peeled are cleaned by cutting oft the lower branches. As 

 soon as the season is sufficiently advanced for the bark to come otf readily, gen- 

 erally in May or June, the poles are peeled standing, the operation being per- 

 formed as follows: From a cut made breast high the the lower portion of the 

 bark is taken off downwards, while the upper portion is peeled upwards, the 

 upper end remaining attached to the pole. In the case of high poles ladders are 

 used, and weak poles are bent down in order to peel them. The naked poles 

 remain standing until the bark is dry. Long strips remain hanging ; smaller pieces 

 are tied up in bundles and are huug upon the poles. In the case of poles which 

 have sprung from seed, either natural or planted, the rule is strictly observed to 

 ring them close to the ground by a circular cut going through the bark only. 

 The bark then conies off down to the girdle only, and this promotes the growth 

 of coppice shoots from the stool. 



The wood is cut as near the ground as possible, the cut being smooth and 

 slanting without splitting and without injuring the roots. The poles over 5 cm. 

 (two inches) diam. are cut one to two inches above the ground by means of two 

 opposite cuts slanting upwards. Seedlings, whether natural or planted, not yet fit 

 for peeling, remain standing so they may not be damaged by hoeing and when 

 the corn is cut. 



The wood is placed on the ground between the stools with the butt end 

 down hill, and is removed as soon as possible without injuring the young 

 shoots from the stools. 



Immediately after the bark has been peeled and while the naked poles are 

 still standing, the ground between the stools is worked up with a hoe of peculiar 

 shape, the sharp edge indented, and is turned up in sods, which are gathered in 

 heaps and when dry are burnt, with the aid of the small branch wood. 



The burning takes place between July and September. The ashes are then 

 evenly spread over the ground with a shovel, and the rye is sown broadcast. 



The seed is worked into the ground with the aid of a peculiar kind of 



light plough without wheels, locally called" hainharch," drawn by cows or oxen, 



which are muzzled so as to prevent their browsing upon the young shoots of the 



oak coppice. The crop is always clean, without weeds. In August the harvest 



akes place, and the corn is cut with the sickle, so as not injure the young coppice 



hoots of the oak. 



