DEAD BRANCH- WOOD. 51 



manures, and by the use of straw and provision of fodder- 

 crops for stock, the demand for forest litter may be reduced ; 

 it is the duty of the State to impart pubhc instruction in this 

 respect, and as to the extreme impoverishment of forest soil by 

 the constant removal of litter. The worst possible instances 

 of damage to the soil by the removal of litter are exhibited by 

 the State forests near Nuremberg in Bavaria, where even 

 Scots pine, in some parts of the forest, can now grow only 

 as a dwarfed scrubl)y tree almost useless except for fuel. 

 Litter from coppice-with-standards in Kent, Sussex and 

 Hampshire is regularly used for manuring hop-lields, to the 

 impoverishment of the soil of those woodlands. 



8. Dead Branch-icood. 



Wherever the removal of dead branch-wood is not a right 

 of usage, but is permitted under certain conditions by the 

 forest manager, the following rules apply : — 



Written or printed permits for the removal of the dead wood 

 must be held by each person so engaged in order to prevent 

 the concession from becoming a right, and generally, people 

 too poor to purchase fuel should be favoured in this respect, 

 but they should not be allowed to sell the wood. 



Very poor or exposed localities in the forest should be 

 excluded from the use of this concession, as the dead branches 

 increase the humus of the soil. 



As a rule, no tools should l)e used, but where removal of 

 dead branches from standing trees is allowed, they should be 

 sawn off close to the stem. 



In order to facilitate control, the removal of dead wood 

 should be allowed only on certain days, and not between 

 sunset and sunrise, and the forest carefully watched on those 

 days. 



Wherever game is of importance, the privilege must bg 

 suspended during the breeding season. 



It may be necessary to prescribe the removal by certain 

 roads in order to facilitate control. 



The removal of fallen dead wood is not so harmless as many 

 people think, as a considerable amount of humus is formed 



E 2 



