THE SOFTWOODS 177 



the largest returns, could, in the great majority 

 of cases in Britain, be cultivated more remunera- 

 tively than under crops of alder coppice, the form 

 of treatment most suitable for this tree. The 

 returns may vary very widely, however, according 

 to the general quality of the soil. 



Where the larger sizes of alder are marketable, 

 coppices can be worked even with a rotation of 

 forty to fifty years without outreaching their 

 capacity of shooting again from the stool. On 

 inferior classes of soil, however, it is best to keep 

 the rotation down to about twenty years. Alder 

 coppice has, more than any other kind of coppice, 

 much resemblance to a young highwood crop, 

 because two or three dominating shoots soon 

 forge their way ahead and suppress the weak- 

 ling rods ; for, although on good, moist, loamy 

 soil it can bear a considerable amount of shade, 

 the alder really requires a large amount of 

 light on land not particularly suitable to its 

 growth. 



Alder is well worth attention and cultivation 

 on low-lying land, while a judicious sprinkling 

 of ash and oak on the better patches of ground 

 can often be made to add considerably to the 



M 



