1 78 OUR FORESTS AND WOODLANDS 



value of the crop. In all such cases, however, 

 the question should first be considered whether 

 a little expense in drainage and then a much 

 larger proportion of ash, sycamore, and other 

 trees may not promise more solid advantages 

 than crops of alder. 



The best time of cutting alder coppice is 

 when the ground is frozen hard, while the fall 

 must be at once brought out to the drier 

 parts. The drawback to this is that the stools 

 are then rather apt to chip. If the land 

 be not too marshy for late autumn or early 

 spring felling, then the main point to be con- 

 sidered is the danger of flooding at the time 

 of the flush of the leaf. Where this is to be 

 feared, it is well to leave a stump to protect 

 the shoots against immersion and against rank 

 growth of grass and other weeds ; otherwise, of 

 course, the curfe should be low down almost 

 flush with the ground. In filling blanks and 

 keeping a good thick stock of crop, planting 

 is preferable to sowing, as such places are usually 

 prone to a strong growth of weeds, apt to choke 

 the young seedlings. 



Own cousin to the alder botanically, the Birch 



