<\.8i English Coppices and Copsewoods. 



The young stems selected as stores should be of seedling growth, if available ; 

 and in any case they should be of good, straight development, with a well-shaped, 

 compact crown of foliage. At each fall the inferior stems of each class in the over- 

 wood should be cleared away and utilise I, leaving the best to attain the larger and 

 more remunerative dimensions. As the future prospects point to advantage in the 

 storing of ash, this tree should, on the whole, receive the preference when selecting 

 the standards, not only on account of a larger number being retainable per acre, but 

 also because, thus treated, it may be expected to attain its full maturity within 60 to 

 80 years ; whereas oak might often require 100 to 120 years, and the latter, involving 

 five classes of standards, seems inadvisable in dealing with the small areas now under 

 treatment. As a general rule, it will perhaps be found advisable to remove all the 

 ash standards at the age of So years, and only to allow oak to grow up as old trees to 

 100 years of age. 



Where some of the older standards may have to be removed before the fall of the 

 cjppice, they should be lopped of all large branches and of the crown, in order to 

 reduce the amount of damage done to the underwood when felling. 



As previously remarked, these figures are merely theoretical 

 indications to be used as guides. In practice one must 

 select the young stores as one finds suitable saplings ; and in 

 felling one must first remove all stems that are diseased or no 

 longer thriving, or which may, for other reasons, be the less 

 profitable if allowed to remain. But one should not, as is so 

 often the case at present, allow large mature (or over-mature) 

 trees to remain for another rotation simply because the bark 

 will not strip. If the old timber trees are to be barked at all, 

 this should be done in the spring before the fall, and not after 

 the coppice is cut. because then the subsequent fall of the 

 trees must damage the young spring from the stools. It will 

 be seen from the above examples of the formation of regular 

 age-classes (which it will respectively take 140 (i.) and 100 (ii.) 

 years to establish completely) that in this continental system 

 the number of the oldest class of trees which should be 

 allowed to stand really determines the numbers of those in 

 the younger classes, —and of course the number of standards 

 that can with advantage be left so as to give the underwood 

 any chance of forming a profitable crop depends on the 

 quality of the soil and the amount of shade cast by the kinds 

 of trees stored. From the quotations made from Evelyn it 

 will be seen that he recommends a twenty years' rotation and 

 speaks of four age-classes of standards, which exactly 

 corresponds with the system now being introduced into the 

 Earl of Selborne's copsewoods. Here, however, the points of 

 similarity end, for if in ancient days there had been any 

 regular arithmetical method about storing and utilising the 



