SIMPLE COPPICE. 117 



is that the bark should thoroughly adhere to the 

 wood. If this union is destroyed, the little 

 excrescence, on which adventitious buds appear, 

 cannot be formed. In the same manner, if the 

 dormant buds, the extremities of which are con- 

 tained in the whole thickness of the bark, have been 

 broken, the chances of shoots coming up are consider- 

 ably diminished. 



In order to preserve this union no cutting should 

 take place before the winter sets in, as the autumn 

 showers may cause water to permeate between the 

 bark and the wood ; and if frosts then follow, a 

 disruption is the consequence. Similarly no cutting 

 should be made during severe frosts, because at such 

 times the adherence between the bark and the wood 

 is slighter than at other seasons of the year, and the 

 former is liable to split under the blows of the axe. 



On the other hand, cutting while the sap is active 

 is considered to possess the defect of producing 

 fewer and less vigorous shoots, which moreover 

 are exposed to early frosts before they are properly 

 lignified, and above all of causing the loss of one 

 year's growth. 



Arguing thus, felling operations would have to bo 

 restricted to a very limited period, viz., from the 

 beginning of February to the end of March. It is 

 easy to conceive that this time is too short, and 

 would suddenly require a number of hands im- 

 possible to procure all at once. More than this, it 

 would possess the very serious defect of throwing 

 out of employ all the labourers who take to wood 

 cutting during the winter. 



