ELEMENTS OF SYLVICULTURE. 



and each stage has its own particular name. Thus, 

 the forest is in the thicket stage when formed of 

 young trees which still retain all their branches. It 

 is in the sapling stage when the bole begins to form 

 by the fall of the lower branches and while the 

 diameter of the stem is less than four inches. When 

 the diameter of the stern at the foot of the young 

 tree vaiiesfrom four to eight inches, the forest is said 

 to be in the low pole stage. From this time it is termed 

 high poles until the trees have almost attained their 

 full length of bole. And when the trees have almost 

 attained their full size in diameter, it is called old 

 high forest. Although these various terms are more 

 especially applicable to high forests, they are by 

 usage equally applied to coppice ; only care must 

 then be taken to add the words on stools. 



With regard to its denseness, a homogeneous crop 

 is said to be complete when it forms a continuous 

 leaf-canopy ; if it is not homogeneous, it is said to 

 be complete when the trees which compose it entirely 

 cover the ground. The crop is dense when the 

 branches interlace, and open when the crowns only 

 touch one another here and there. When the 

 crowns are isolated, the crop is said to be 

 discontinuous or interrupted. 



A regular crop is one which is complete and 

 composed of trees best suited to the soil and climate 

 and in which all promising trees are growing up 

 under favourable conditions. 



An open glade is a portion of a forest where the 

 trees are few and far between and the soil is bare, or 

 covered with inferior species. A blank is an open 



