160 ELEMENTS OF SYLVICULTURE. 



existence of these branches, they fancy that the soil 

 is no longer able to support old trees. It is too easily 

 forgotten that the old reserves have passed through 

 identical circumstances ; and if no traces of this are 

 now visible, it is solely because the up-growth of the 

 coppice has stamped out the epicormic branches and 

 enabled the trees to reform their crowns. 



It is certain that during this crisis an appreciable 

 number of trees die, and those which survive often 

 contain an unsound heart-wood. The reason is 

 obvious ; after a certain time, the dry branches in 

 the crown break off ; the jagged section left behind 

 decays, absorbs moisture, and allows water to pene- 

 trate into the interior of the tree. Thus may be 

 explained in most cases the fact that coppice stand- 

 ards furnish a larger proportion of unsound timber 

 than trees grown in the canopied blocks of high 

 forest. But this defect can in most cases be 

 obviated. 



The means lies in getting rid of the epicormic 

 branches as soon as they show themselves, or two 

 years after at the latest. This should be done with 

 sharp instruments, the bill-hook or the pruning-bill, 

 cutting upwards to avoid tearing off any bark, and 

 making the section on a level with the bole. At 

 the same time some precautions are necessary ; 

 above all the use of climbing-irons should be inter- 

 dicted. Each wound that penetrates as far as the 

 sapwood is the inevitable cause of a fault in the 

 wood. The wounded portion dies ; sap or rain water 

 collects round it, and decomposition sets in, giving 

 the wood a blackish colour. The least that can 



