SEVERANCE CUTTINGS. 283 



windward side has been cut. An example will explain this. 

 A wood comprising a and h (Fig. 51), is to l)e divided into 

 two cutting series I. and II. To prevent the trees in II. being 

 thrown by wind, when I. is cut, a strip <■ is cleared some time 

 before cuttings in I. are commenced, so that the edge trees 

 along the line d — c may become storm-firm. 



Severance cuttings need not be straight ; they may, if 

 necessary, be curved, or run along two or three sides of a 

 wood. The latter is necessary, w^here the prevailing wind 

 direction is not constant, but oscillates, say, from north-west 

 to south-west. The breadth of severance cuttings difters 

 according to species, their height growth and the strength 



-^-^^A^mi^w 



PREVAILING 



WIND 



DIRECTION. 



of threatening winds : it will ordinarily range between 30 and 

 ()0 feet. 



Severance cuttings must l)e made, while the wood to be 

 protected is still young and capable of developing firm edge 

 trees ; such a development is generally no longer possi])le, after 

 the trees have passed middle age. They must be made some 

 15 to 20 years before the regular cuttings in the windward 

 wood are commenced. "Where danger from w'indfalls is great, 

 it is desirable first to clear a narrow strip, and to widen it a 

 few years afterwards in one or more instalments, so as 

 gradually to accustom the edge trees to the efTects of strong 

 winds. If the severance cutting is not to form a road or ride, 

 it is at once re-stocked, so as to avoid loss of increment, and 

 because the existence of a young wood in front of that to 



