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EXGLISH COPPICliS AND COPSEWOODS. 



The brief details regarding this simple Working Plan are to 

 be found in a Minute entitled " Treasury Office ; Increase of 

 Revenue " (Cottonian MSS., Titus B IV. ; tempore James L), 

 which is well worth giving in extenso : — 



Planting, Increasing, and Preserving of Woods. 

 To enclose the fourth part of wastes, according to the Statute, and there to plant 

 and preserve coppice woods, and at the time of cutting every Coppice to leave forty 

 standels in every acre, which will increase the timber trees. 



The Forests and Chases are the meetest places to raise and preserve timber trees- 

 and underwoods, and therefore it will be both necessary and profitable to raise in them 

 51,000 acres of coppice woods in fifteen years, enclosing (for the avoiding of great 

 charge of enclosure) 200 acres in every Coppice. 



The King hath already 30,000 acres of coppice woods and coverts of holms, thorns, 

 and such like underwoods. 



The new planted Coppice woods, 51,000 acres. 

 In all ... ... ... ... 81,000 acres. 



Every year to fell 5,400 acres at £"4 an acre is ,£2 1,600 per annum, besides the 

 Coppices that are raised belonging to manors. 



The Chaige for Raising of New Woods. 

 The 51,000 acres of new woods to be raised must be proportionally divided into 

 fifteen equal i numbers, which will be 3,400 acres yearly to be planted, making there- 

 of seventeen coppices, containing 200 acres. 



The enclosure of the Coppices, being laid square, will be 716 poles, which will cost 

 in the dyking, planting, cutting, and carrying of stuff to make the hedge, eighteen 

 pence a pole, which amounteth to £"53 14s. for the enclosing of every Coppice, which, 

 with careful husbandry, being planted with young furzes will be a perpetual fence, 

 without further charge where such plants may be gotten. 



The ploughing of 200 acres at 3s. 4d. an acre is £36 13s. 4d. 



The gathering of four bushels of acorns, for planting of every acre, at fourpence the 

 bushel is £3 6s. 8d. 



The planting of the acorns by men's hands 3s. an acre, which is £30 every Coppice. 

 The whole charge of planting and enclosing a Coppice of 200 acres will be 

 £123 14s. 



Besides 403. by the year to be allowed for a man to look unto and repair the hedges 

 until the furzes be grown up, which in four years will be so high and so strong a 

 defence that neither deer nor any other cattle will be able to go through or over it. 



So that the whole charge of planting and defencing of seventeen Coppices yearly, 

 every Coppice containing 200 acres, amounteth to ,£2,102 18s., which in fifteen years 

 will amount to in all ,£31,543 10s. 



So that the charge for raising of 51,000 acres of Coppice cometh to ,£31,543 10s., 

 besides the allowance of 40s. by the year for a man to look unto the hedges. 



The benefit that will come unto the King is ,£220,000, to be raised in two years, 

 and after fifteen years £"21,600 yearly. 



The charge of the raising of the new woods will be defrayed with £"20,000, parcel 

 of £"220,000, and the benefit of Coppices in Forests and Chases already grown if they 

 may be sold to the best advantage. 



These instructions, together with the Statutory orders of 

 1543 and 1570 as regards the selection and storing ot 

 standards, really constitute a definite though rough and 

 simple scheme of management, under which all the royal 

 woods throughout England were treated as forming so many 



