T):i-Z FOREST-FODDER. 



liroclucinj:^ soil (especially 1 to 5 years old beech ami spruce 

 refrcneration-areas, and 1 to 3 years old fellings in coppice or 

 coppice-with-staiidards) ; also alder, ash and larch woods of 

 almost any age, which usually produce good crops of grass. In 

 some places, clear-felled areas are used for the production of 

 grass several years before being replanted. Grass-cutting among 

 young plants causes much anxiety to many foresters. There is a 

 danger that many young plants may be cut with the grass, so that 

 to forbid grass-cutting altogether may appear to be the simplest 

 remedy, hy so doing, however, a valuable product is with- 

 drawn from people who are in general greatly in want of fodder, 

 and a source of danger to the young woody plants is not removed, 

 whilst the most stringent regulations and laws will not prevent 

 poor people from stealing the grass. Then, owing to hasty 

 cutting or to the fear of inevitable punishment, it will be cut 

 without the slightest care for the forest plants. Grass-cutting 

 is therefore, as a rule, advantageous to the forest, provided the 

 soil is sufficiently good to permit the practice on felling-areas 

 and among young growth, on condition that it is carefully cut 

 and removed. This is specially important in years of local 

 scarcity of fodder. On the other hand, all poor dry soils should 

 be excluded from this practice, especially in lightly stocked 

 coppice and coppice-with-standards ; for besides the fact that 

 the grass-crop is scanty in such places, its removal must be 

 considered as a great drain of nutriment from the soil. 



Oil all permanent forest grass-lands, the grass is mown wiiJi 

 scylhes iis in ordinary meadows ; where the presence of trees 

 would interfere with the scythe the sickle is used instead. 

 Forest revenue is obtained either by leasing the grass for longer 

 or shorter periods, or by selling the crop in well demarcati-d 

 lots by public auction. The grass among young growth or on 

 felling-areas may be either plucked by hand or cut with the 

 sickle. Hand-plucking is considered a less hurtful method, l)ut 

 it yields little and cannot be continued long without danger (o 

 the hands. Cutting grass is nearly every where effected with the 

 common sraootli-blailed sickle, and but rarely with the saw- 

 toothed one. ll is (lilliriilL to prove that the sickle is always a 

 dangerous instrument among young growth, for both plucking 

 and reaping must l)oili l)e carefully done. Where the plants are 



