48 METHODS OF TREATMENT [ch. 



felling, including the extraction of dead or dying trees, once at 

 mid-period at least. In the year following the principal felling 

 too, it may be found very beneficial to go over the same ground 

 again with a cleaning, to cut back all young stems that have 

 been broken or damaged in the previous year's exploitation, 

 and to extract all bad and unmarketable material. A tabular 

 statement will be prepared, showing for each year during the 

 duration of the special plan what areas have to be worked over 

 by these subsidiary operations year by year, and rules framed 

 to state the nature of each kind of tending operation, its cultural 

 objects, and the manner in which it is to be carried out. This 

 tabular statement will be similar to the one prepared for the 

 principal fellings, which also wiU be accompanied by cultural 

 rules to supplement (and to take precedence of) the regulation 

 of the yield — rules which are of the greatest importance, since 

 they will touch on such fundamental matters as the maintenance 

 of the leaf-canopy and of the fertility of the soil, the supply of 

 seed, shelter against wind and exposure, favour shown to the 

 more valuable species in the crop, etc. 



44. Provisional methods. 



The cases in which a provisional or temporary method of 

 treatment has to be applied may be classified into two categories : 

 first, there are the forests that for the future are to be worked 

 under a new method of treatment, which renders it necessary 

 to re-constitute the growing stock, and to arrange a different 

 succession of age-classes to correspond with the new rotation; 

 and secondly there are the forests of which the wood-capital is 

 so deficient or so irregular that a preparatory period must be 

 adopted during which this wood-capital may be improved and 

 added to, until the growing stock has been sufficiently increased 

 and completed to render it fit for working under a regular 

 method of treatment. We have therefore to consider methods 

 of (i) conversion, and (2) improvement. 



The commonest and most important cases of conversion are 

 from Coppice-with-standards to even-aged high-forest, and 

 secondly from Selection to even-aged high-forest. 



