220 OEGANISATION OF SIMPLE COPSES, 



But tte number and size of the Working Circles must depend 

 chiefly on the configuration of the ground, on the system of roads- 

 already laid out or projected, and on the distribution of the age- 

 classes resulting from previous exploitatrens. 



The "Working Circles being onee formed, the main point to be 

 attended to in organising a simple copse is- the determination, of 

 the Rotation. Formerly, the produce of such forests used, for the 

 most part, to be converted into charcoal for tbe metallu'rgist. la 

 order to meet this special circumstance it was usual to work simple- 

 copses on short Rotations. Since then, however, the situation has 

 undergone a complete change. The demand for charcoal has great- 

 ly fallen off ; while cordwood, especially unsplit billets, and, in some 

 districts, certain descriptions of builders' and artificers' wood, such 

 as mine props, for instance, are more sought after and command 

 higher prices than wood suited for charcoal making. The bark also- 

 raises in a very marked manner tbe value of oak copses. Hence 

 before adopting for tbe length of the Rotation 12, 15, or 18 years, 

 which numbers seem to be fixed by universal custom in every part 

 of the country, the Am^uagiate would act wisely if he fi,rst satis- 

 fied himself that no better results could be secured with a longer 

 Rotation. Whether we consider private woods or communal 

 forests, there is nearly always advantage m rai^ng th« Rotation to 

 25 years at tbe least, and often up to as high a figure as 30 years. 



In the case of woods belo-nging to private proprietors, tbe only 

 safe and intelligent way of determining the length of tbe Rota- 

 tion is to compare the capitalised values of the standing crop at. 

 various ages with the corresponding receipts. '• 



If the copse is owned by a Commune, the interest of which class 

 of proprietor is to obtain the largest income it can from its forests 

 the simple comparison of tbe annual receipts realizable with differ- 

 ent Rotations suffices to resolve tbe problem. As long as th& 

 average annual receipts go on increasing with the age of the exploit- 

 ed crop, it is obviously to the interest of the Commune to lengthen 

 the Rotation accordingly. Suppose, for example, that tbe produce of 

 a copse is worth £ 6 per acre if felled at tbe age of 20 years, £10 per 

 acre if felled at 25 years, and £15 per acre if felled at SO years jthen 



1. For example see page 104. 



