APPLICATION OF THE METHOD 123 



This disadvantage is one having particular weight in the 

 management of publicly owned lands. 



(b) It does not provide, due to its low growing stock, a 

 reserve supply of forest products for the future or to meet 

 extraordinary demands. 



3. It is a method which tends to exhaust the available 

 mineral substances in the soil, because the product consists so 

 largely of small branches and young wood which contain a 

 greater proportion of minerals than larger and older wood. 4 



4. The sprouts are frequently damaged by frost. Young 

 sprouts are apt to continue rapid growth until late in the 

 season and fail to lignify before the fall frosts. The injury 

 results in the killing back of all or parts of the last year's 

 growth of the sprouts which, if not entirely killed, may con- 

 tinue growth the following season. Frost injury may be so 

 serious as to prevent the use of the coppice method on sites 

 subject to frost, such as the higher altitudes. 



5. ^Esthetically coppice is not a desirable method, since it 

 produces a relatively low forest and one too monotonous in 

 its regularity to be attractive. 



6. Coppice is considered the poorest method from the 

 protection standpoint. The frequent clearcuttings and the 

 relatively low total height attained by the stand result in 

 exposure of the site. The tendency of coppice to exhaust 

 the mineral contents of the soil is likely to be important on 

 protection sites which are usually shallow-soiled and of poor 

 quality. The prompt start after clearcutting and the rapid 

 growth of reproduction have the effect of preventing the com- 

 plete exposure of the site, which may follow clearcutting 

 with reproduction from the seed. 



Application of the Method. Coppice with its small grow- 

 ing stock, low investment and quick returns appeals favor- 

 ably to private land owners, but is not a satisfactory method 



