THE ANNUAL FALL. 125 



before and some after maturity, with the result that a normal 

 series of age-classes would be produced in the course of one 

 rotation during which the annual falls might vary greatly in 

 extent. Differences in soil-productivity can be counterbalanced 

 by making the annual falls inversely proportionate to the quality 

 of the land, as a smaller area of fall on productive land will 

 give as large a yield as a proportionately larger area of less 

 productive land. Hence, to get a sustained annual yield of 

 about equal quantity and value, one must make larger falls 

 on poorer land, and smaller falls on better land, so as to equalise 

 the income year by year. This improved method of fixing the 

 annual fall by equally productive area only is the most practical 

 for simple and for stored coppice ; but it is unsuitable for 

 high woods, unless worked with a low rotation, e.g., for pit- wood. 

 For all ordinary highwoods the periodic arrangement is pre- 

 ferable. 



(2) Fixing the Annual Fall from the Yield or Cubic Contents 

 of the Crops. Under this method, after the rotation has been 

 fixed and the whole working-circle divided into 20-year periodic 

 blocks, a tabular working -plan is drawn up in such a way as 

 to "give about an equal yield for each period, and the annual 

 fall for each whole periodic section equals the total periodic 

 yield divided by 20 years. This tends to equalise the fall, 

 but does not necessarily lead to a normal distribution of age- 

 classes, a normal growing-stock, and a normal increment. It 

 is therefore not a good method. Although it may look all right 

 on paper, it has no real practical value, because it is quite 

 impossible to forecast exactly what the annual fall will be. 



(3) Fixing the Annual Fall by a combination of Area and 

 Yield is by far the best and most practical method. It was 

 introduced on the Continent about 100 years ago, and is now 

 everywhere in force there, though the precise method of its 

 application differs in details, not only in different countries, 

 but also in different districts, throughout each country, *v ; /. : 



