292 DETERMINATION OF THE METHOD OF TREATMENT. 



forest must be adopted in the case of all species, which cannot 

 be regenerated by stool shoots or root suckers. 



As to the different kinds of high forest, clear cutting, shelter- 

 wood compartment system, group system, selection forest, or 

 their modified forms, it should be remembered, that clear 

 cutting is most easy to carry out, and that the selection system 

 is most favourable for the protection of the quality of the 

 locality, while the modified forms stand between these two 

 extremes. Again, clear cutting exposes the growth most to 

 dangers ; at the same time, it is generally obligatory in the 

 case of light demanding species. Its drawbacks can, to some 

 extent, be reduced by making the coupes of small extent. 

 Still, it should only be followed in the case of hardy 

 species. 



The question, as to which of the forms of high forest gives 

 the highest returns, has been much discussed. On the whole, 

 a carefully carried out system of clear cutting, with a suitable 

 species, may be expected to give the best financial results; 

 the ordinary shelter-wood system approaches it in this respect, 

 while even higher returns have been claimed for some of its 

 modifications, such as the group system, the two-storied 

 high forest, or the system of isolated trees in conjunction 

 with an underwood. 



In how far a locality can, under the clear cutting system, 

 maintain the higher returns (if any), depends on the nature 

 of the soil and the climate. Where these are not favourable, 

 one of the shelter-wood systems is certainly to be preferred. 

 The latter are absolutely essential in the case of species, which 

 are tender during early youth. 



CojJjnrr woods are only possible in the case of those species 

 which reproduce from the stool. To do well, they require a 

 fairly mild climate and protected position. Coppice woods 

 make smaller demands on the chemical and physical pro- 

 perties of the soil and give quicker returns ; they require a 

 much smaller capital ; owing to the shortness of the rotation, 

 the danger of damage from outside (excepting frost and deer) 



