CHOICE OF CROP-FORM. 113 



For ordinary classes of highwood timber-crops on ordinary 

 classes of woodland soil, profit is likely to be greater from quick- 

 growing Conifers easily saleable at fifty or sixty years of age 

 than from hardwoods such as Beech and Oak, which require 

 ninety to one hundred and twenty years or more before reaching 

 maturity or even fair marketable size. Hence, if any great 

 scheme of national afforestation be undertaken, Conifers are 

 certain to form the bulk of the crops planted. On the Continent 

 Spruce with sixty years' rotation is found to be generally the 

 most profitable kind of crop. But State Forests are often 

 worked with longer rotations than private landowners care to 

 adopt, in order to provide hardwoods of large dimensions, a supply 

 of which may be very desirable from a national point of view, 

 but which it would not be profitable for the private landowner 

 to attempt to grow, especially under the existing estate and 

 succession duty enactments. 



Coppice used to be very profitable for small woodland areas, 

 so long as there was a good demand for Oak-bark and small 

 wood, the crops grown being chiefly Oak, Ash, Chestnut, Hazel, 

 Maple, and Sycamore, with Alder, Willow, Poplar, Aspen, 

 Birch, and Hornbeam on moister lands. And much attention 

 was then given to see that stools were replaced whenever they 

 began to lose their reproductive power. The best rotation to 

 adopt for Coppice depends on the kind of crop grown. Oak- 

 coppice is seldom now profitable ; Hazel is often wanted only 

 at about eight to ten years old, and Ash only at twelve to 

 fourteen ; and this makes it very difficult to now arrange for 

 a good rotation for a mixed crop. 



Stored Coppice or Coppice with Standards really needs a 

 good fresh soil, otherwise the underwood does poorly under 

 the shade of the standards, am} the stools soon lose their 

 reproductive power. Where such copses have become greatly 

 deteriorated, the best plan often is to interplant with quick- 

 growing Conifers, or transform the whole into a Conifer crop 



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