

160 



PRACTICAL FOREST MANAGEMENT. 



Laying 

 out the 

 coupes. 



The deter- 

 mination 

 of the 

 rotation. 



Following on the above division into periods the programme 

 of work would be as follows : 



P. B. I clear fellings in 10 annual coupes. 



II Final thinning and cleaning in 10 annual coupes. 



III 2nd thinning in 10 annual coupes. 



IV 1st thinning in 1(3 annual coupes. 

 V Cleaning in year 1, 2, 5. 



The rotation having been fixed the next step is to divide the 

 working circle into annual coupes of equal productivity. In order 

 to effect this where the intensity of management calls for this 

 refinement a system of local reduced areas must be adopted. The 

 coupes must be marked on a large scale map and as the fellings 

 come round each coupe should be marked out on the ground with 

 a ditch or path and numbered corner posts so that later on a 

 particular coupe can be located at once. Each compartment 

 should, if possible, contain a whole number of coupes, i.e., a coupe 

 should not usually be situated in 2 compartments but sometimes 

 this is unavoidable. The boundaries of coupes ought to consist of 

 straight lines, or of permanent lines such as roads, streams, ridges, 

 fire lines and the edges of easily recognised grass lands like the 

 chandars of Pilibhit and South Kheri. Each coupe should be 

 accessible to an export line without carts having to pass through an 

 area of young coppice. As far as possible the exploitation of the 

 coupes in the middle of the forest should be avoided as this merely 

 creates a frost hole. Fellings should start on the edge of the forest 

 and proceed in an orderly manner from one side to the other. 

 Where the hot west wind known as the loo blows during the 

 summer the fellings should be arranged to proceed from east to west 

 so that the young coppice is sheltered to some extent during its 

 first year. 



This will be done on the lines already explained in chapter VI ; 

 but the power of the stools at different ages to produce vigorous 

 coppice will largely influence the choice of rotation, where true 



