SYLVICULTURE 



II. Diameter : The sprouting capacity rapidly decreases, usually, 

 with increasing diameter of the stump. The diameter at which the 

 principal height growth is completed usually denotes the limit per- 

 missible for coppice rotations. This rule is particularly well illus- 

 trated by the behavior of Yellow Pine, Birch, Maple, Yellow Poplar, 

 Oaks, Hickories, etc. Chestnut and Sequoia do not seem to foUow 

 the rule. 



in. Soil: Good soil allows big stumps otherwise unproductive 

 of sprouts to form stool shoots. 



Good soil produces stronger, but less sprouts than poor soil. 



IV. Life of stumps: The life and hence the sprouting capacity 

 of stumps repeatedly coppiced is closely connected with the resistance 

 offered by the timber to decay. White Oak, Chestnut, Sequoia and 

 Locust are perseverant sprouters, the scars on the stump being 

 protected from rotting by the antiseptic qualities of the substances 

 incnistating the heart wood. 



The reproductive power of Birch, Beech, and Maple is not sus- 

 tained for a long time. Ash and Basswood show greater perseverance. 



It might be said that a long-lifed species is also a perseverant 

 sprouter. 



The sprouting capacity is especially good in species capable of 

 forming a separate and detached root system for the sprout inde- 

 pendent from the mother stump. This is the case in species forming 

 sprouts from the base of the stump (at the root collar ) . 



V. Optimum number of stumps per acre : 



The optimum depends on the length of the rotation. It is con- 

 sidered to be: For German Oak coppice, rotation 20 years, 2,000 

 stumps per acre; for Osier culture, rotation one or two years, 80,000 

 stumps per acre. 



VI. Manner of coppicing: The use of the axe is preferable to 

 that of the saw. Stumps should be as low as possible, to begin with. 

 In case of stumps — notably Beech and Birch — coppiced a number of 

 times it is better to cut in the new wood. The scar should allow the 

 water to run off, instead of collecting it like a saucer. The expense 

 of the genesis of the coppice forest is practically nil. 



VII. Season of coppicing: 



If the wood must be peeled, the cut should be made in early 

 spring. Late spring, cutting subjects the new sprouts to early frosts. 

 Coppicing in August is supposed — for similar reasons — to affect the 

 vitality of the stumps. Where the shoots are not to be peeled, 

 cutting in late winter is best. Winter cutting prevents the stumps 



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