HIGHWOODS, COPSES, ETC. 281 



sitate corresponding variations as to both stan- 

 dard trees and coppice underwood. And the 

 leading principles are simple; it is, unfortu- 

 nately, only their practical application which is 

 often difficult. While the local market will 

 mainly determine the kinds of trees to be favoured 

 as standards, the soil and the situation must de- 

 termine the kinds which can be grown best and 

 the number of standards that may be allowed to 

 remain with advantage. The better the soil and 

 the more sheltered the locality, the greater the 

 number of standards that can be retained with- 

 out interfering too much with the growth of 

 the underwood; and the market open for the 

 timber will, of course, determine the time at 

 which the standards should be cleared, as there can 

 be no advantage in growing these to the age of a 

 hundred years if trees of sixty or eighty years give 

 a better profit on the capital they represent. It 

 is true that standards over coppice have always 

 a larger proportion of branchwood than trees 

 grown in regular highwoods, which produce the 

 longest, straightest, and cleanest stems ; but, not- 

 withstanding this, copse is an excellent method 

 for growing large and valuable oak, ash, and 



