THE COPPICE SYSTEMS 



171 



It is a very simple system to practise, for there is no 

 skill to be exercised in selecting trees for cutting, and 

 reproduction takes place promptly and abundantly by 

 natural means, and without expense. There are, how- 

 ever, certain principles governing sprout reproduction 



Fig. 36. Simple Coppice on a very Short Rotation, Illustrated by 

 Willow Culture. 



which must be observed in the continued practise of the 

 system. If these are ignored, the forests will deteriorate 

 and their productiveness will steadily diminish. Exactly 

 this has happened in New England. No attention has 

 been paid to the condition of the forest when cut, the 

 season of cutting, or the manner of cutting the stumps. 

 Fires have run through the woods repeatedly and injured 



