THE OTHER HARDWOODS _ 167 
very long time. Indeed, in reproductive power it 
excels our indigenous trees, as stools can throw 
out shoots even up to about one hundred years of 
age. Hence it forms an excellent underwood in 
copses where the overshadowing is not excessive, 
though it can hardly be truly reckoned among the 
shade-bearing kinds of trees. Grown as coppice 
under standards of larch, Scots pine, and oak, it 
will often yield good returns on land of a deep 
sandy nature; and in conifer plantations requiring 
underplanting it will be found worthy of favour- 
able consideration. On rather poor classes of 
land, except where it is apt to suffer from late 
frosts in spring, it will sometimes yield better 
returns as coppice than any other kind of under- 
wood. It therefore seems specially adapted for 
the underplanting of old larch and pine woods 
which have become so open in canopy as to be 
unable any longer to protect the soil from the ex- 
hausting and deteriorating effects of sun and 
wind, When thus forming underwood it should 
be cut over for the first time at about ten years 
of age, and then worked with a rotation of about 
fifteen years till the overwood comes to the fall. 
In cutting coppice, low felling, close to the 
