Lord Everdeys Woo(h. 
309 
No one has more attentively studied the manag^emont of under- 
woods in this part of the county than Lord Evcrsley. A sketch, 
therefore, of his procedure will g-ive the most approved practice. 
The Heckfield underwoods (and to these attention will be 
confined) consist of hazel, and chesnut (which has been intro- 
duced within the last sixty or seventy years), on the higher and 
drier grounds ; of ash, withy, and alder, on the lower and damper. 
There is also some oak scrub, which seems to be the natural 
growth of all the stronger woodland in Hampshire, springing up 
spontaneously where it has the chance. This, being only fit for 
bavins to burn, is of little value, and would have been of yet less, 
but for the new buildings which have kept the brick kilns in 
active work. As fuel for household purposes, the railway has 
so facilitated the carriage of coal, that the value of oak coppice 
has fallen from 9Z. an acre, for nine years' growth, to 4Z. This 
will not pay ; and the oak scrub is being grubbed, and the land 
planted to more profitable uses. In providing stock for the 
vacant ground, Lord Eversley looked at some of his over-crowded 
woods, and took counsel of the great English master of all prac- 
tical wisdom. " In coppice woods," says Lord Bacon, " if you 
leave staddles [stools in West country dialect] too thick, they 
run to bushes and briars, and have little clean underwood." Some 
of the Heckfield coppices were " too thick ;" but the old stools 
(chiefly chesnuts), instead of being grubbed up and thrown 
away, were transplanted bodily into new places. Thus the thin- 
nings of the old wood, furnished the materials for the new. This 
bold experiment, of which every practical person roundly foretold 
the failure, has completely succeeded. The single stem of a young 
plant, newly taken from a nursery bed, is a tender morsel to 
the rabbits ; but the veterans of the old coppice soon set the teeth 
of all " small deer " at defiance, with their many shoots, and their 
quick growth. 
This transplanting must, however, be done with judgment. 
To dig a hole and put the root in, is not sufficient : the fern rises 
and smothers the shrub. The whole ground must be deeply 
trenched, all the fern and rubbish dug in, and then the new planta- 
tion will have a fair chance of rising above the trumpery, and 
keeping it under. 
The underwood is cut, according to its growth and character, 
every seven, eight, or nine years. The hazel, chesnut, and ash, 
go for hop poles, and are worth, the best of them, 36Z., or 
even 40/. an acre, at nine years' growth. The alder and withy 
will do for mop handles. The best alder is serviceable for less 
peaceful purposes. The wood, whert barked, will sell for 30^. 
a stack of 12 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 3 feet high, to make 
