KEGENERATIOH BY STOOL-SHOOTS. 379 



The older the stems are up to the limit when they contain their 

 maximum number ol dormant buds, the stronger will be the buds 

 and the larger the shoots they produce. Mere number of stems 

 will never make up for deficient age in this sense, for we want 

 not merely an abundance of shoots, but also strong shoots that will 

 push up rapidly as soon as they are produced. Obviously the limit 

 of age here referred to will depend on the species, soil and climate. 

 If the crop is actually often cut back before this limit is reached, 

 this is simply because postponement of the exploitation until 

 that period would result in diminished average annual re- 

 turns. 



5. Influence of the healthiness and soundness of the stools. 



Unsoundness or an unhealthy condition of the stool generally 

 spreads into the daughter shoots, more in some species than in 

 others, hardly at all, however, in teak, sal, Terminalia tomentosa 

 and Arjuna, and many of our more valuable trees. In any case, 

 the foot of a stool-grown tree must always contain a part of the 

 dead, decomposing portion of the parent stool, and the larger and 

 the more badly cut this latter has been, the larger and more 

 decomposed will be the portion of dead and rotting wood therein 

 enclosed, and the greater the chance of unsoundness spreading 

 into the foot of the tree and affecting the number and vitality of 

 the dormant buds it contains. 



6. Longevity of the parent stool. 



No trustworthy data are available to show what relation exists 

 between the natural term of life of a tree never cut back and the 

 period of time up to which it can go on shooting up again as often 

 as it is cut back. Inlthe case of certain European trees, as the ash, 

 maple, birch, &c., the latter term is certainly shorter, seldom 

 lasting beyond the second or third coppice exploitation, whereas 

 in the case of some others, notably the European oak (Quercus 

 Robur and pedunculata, and many of our Indian species, such as teak, 

 sal, Terminalia tomentosa, &c., no limit has yet been observed to 

 their continued reproduction from the stool. That soil and locality 

 influence to a very great extent the duration of the coppicing 

 faculty, there can be no manner of doubt ; but in what way the 

 peculiar attributes of the different species act in this matter, al- 

 though in a measure suggested on pp. 71-79, still remains a ques- 

 tion to be cleared up by future study. 



7. Manner of cutting the stool. 



This includes (1) the height of cutting, (2) the section to give 



