224 ORGANISATION OF SIMPLE COPSES- 



The best distribution for the standards of a simple copse is, as 

 a rule, ia belts fringing the division lines of coupes and the bound- 

 ary of the forest. With such a methpd of distribution a great num- 

 ber of standards, and these even standing quite near each other, 

 can be preserved without any detriment to the underwood. Such 

 standards produce an abundance of seed, which can be gathered 

 •with profit in certain years ; they afford to the coupe in which they 

 stand excellent protection ; they yield wood suited for the builder 

 and the artificer ; they form capital boundary marks ; and, lastly, 

 they adorn the forest. 



The establishment of these belts, whether single or double, the 

 width to give them along the edges of the coupes and along the 

 main division lines, the selection of the trees to be reserved for 

 that purpose, the stage up to which they should be allowed to grow, 

 and the special precautions to attend to in order successfully to 

 renew these belts, all these points should be equally indicated in 

 the Organisation Project. 



The up-keep and improvement operations required in simple 

 copses are mostly limited to the mere exclusion of men and cattle, 

 and the filling up of blanks. The exclusion of men and cattle is 

 all the more necessary, as the stock is renewed at short intervals 

 and is hence only for a very few years at a time old enough to have 

 little to fear from the numerous risks to which it is exposed, prin- 

 cipally from grazing and fires. On this head, what is required to 

 be done is different for different forests ; but the most important 

 work of all without exception is fencing. An effective barrier, such 

 as a sunk fence difiicult to cross, is one of the best guarantees for 

 the safety of a copse. The Organisation Project ought to provide 

 for the establishment of such barriers as well as for the filling up 

 of the blanks which are common enough in simple copses. 



The growth of sowings or plantations made with our most 

 valuable species is very slow as long as the young seedlings have 

 not joined their crowns and closed over the ground. Besides this, 

 it takes at least one Rotation and exploitation for the seedlino- 

 plants to furnish real stools ; and, indeed, it is only after such 

 individuals have been cut back a second time, that their stools 

 throw up a strong clump of shoots. This circumstance must not be 

 lost sight of by the Am^nagiste. • 



