LIMITS TO USE OF. 



627 



scarcity of straw occur periodically, a reserved area of woodland 

 should be set aside, which may be opened when required. 



In Baden, removal of litter is not allowed in the case of broad- 

 leaved woods, till they are 40 years old ; in coniferous woods — 

 30 years and in coppices — 12 to 15 years. The shortest close 

 time is one jeav. In Hesse, removal of litter is not allowed in 

 high forest till after the first thinning, and in coppice till the 

 second half of the rotation. In Bavaria, all woods are closed to 

 the removal of litter till the second half of the rotation ; the 

 close-time is as follows : — 



In the Wiirttemberg State forests all rights to litter have 

 either been commuted [by purchase, or by granting a forest 

 area to the commune which held the right. — Te.], or are now 

 in process of commutation, so that no plan of operations for 

 the removal of litter is required. In Prussia the local forest 

 official is authorised, according to the actual requirements of 

 the people, to open those forest areas for the removal of litter 

 which are best able to bear it. 



Wherever removal of litter has gone too far and especially in 

 the case of prescriptive rights to litter, plans of operation for its 

 removal are extremely valuable, as they represent the extreme 

 limit up to which the usage may be practised, though they 

 often go too far in this direction. Wherever there is no absolute 

 necessity for the usage, it is better not to draw up such a plan ; 

 for this is apt to prevent any interference with the removal of 

 litter by fostering the belief that the plan must be completely 

 carried out. A custom then arises among the people of using 

 the full amount of litter the plan may allow. 



In putting such a plan in practice the forester should not 

 actually open the whole annual area allotted by the plan, but 

 only so much as experience shows is actually required, i.e., the 

 litter should not only be granted by area, but also by volume. 



s s 2 



