COPPICE OR NIEDERWALD. 8 1 



sown in lines at 7 to 10 feet apart, or, if planted, 

 may be put in at 5 to 6 feet apart. 



The period of felling is not, as in timber forests, 

 determined by the period of highest increment, 

 but by the period at which the stumps send out 

 the most vigorous shoots, which is generally when 

 they are from 4 to 9 inches diameter. 



The ber will coppice as vigorously from larger 

 stumps, but the shoots have not as good a hold on 

 the stump ; the stump is more liable to decay ; the 

 fuel requires to be split ; and after the first clear- 

 ing, the shoots will probably attain their highest 

 capacity for increment at 6 to 8 inches diameter. 



The fellings should never be performed with 

 the saw, as shoots from sawn stamps are liable to 

 windfall ; nor should the top of the stump be left 

 cup-shaped, or water will lodge on it, and cause 

 early decay. The stems should 

 be cut nearly through from one 

 side, a small notch only being 

 made at the back to prevent 

 splitting. 



Coppice stems grow much 

 quicker than seedling stems in 

 their first stages, but retardation of growth sets 

 in sooner. The following table gives the average 

 proportion of oak and beech seedling and coppice 

 stems for sixty years, by which it will be seen that 



