The Woodlands of England. ng 
partially coppiced woods. 1 The coppice, mostly of hazel, though also 
of oak, ash, and birch, sometimes of beech, locally of hornbeam, in 
marshy woods frequently of alder and willow, and, particularly in 
the hop-growing districts of Kent, often of Spanish chestnut, is 
typically cut once in ten to twelve years, or less generally at longer 
intervals. 2 In most of the coppices there are standard trees, 
usually oaks, not grown in close canopy, but more or less isolated, 
so that each standard acquires the branching habit characteristic 
of a tree grown in the open. This method of cultivation, which is 
some centuries old, gives rise to a distinct and quasi -artificial type 
of woodland, known to foresters as “ copse ” or “ coppice with 
standards.” 3 
The prevalent type of copse is the oak-hazel copse, and, as will 
be seen in the sequel, this is derived from more than one of the 
natural types of woodland. It is by far the commonest form of 
woodland over wide areas in southern England, owing to the great 
demand in past times for hazel for hurdles and fencing, cask-hoops, 
etc., and for oak timber for the navy and various other purposes, as 
well as for oak-bark used in tanning. These demands have greatly 
diminished and in some cases practically disappeared during the 
latter half of the nineteenth century, and at present this type of 
wood is but little if at all remunerative. Their continued existence is 
due partly to the conservatism already referred to, and partly to the 
fact that they are very convenient for pheasant-covers, for which 
purpose they are almost invariably used. 
The ground vegetation of the oak-hazel copse shows a regular 
periodicity of development, dependent upon the regular cutting of 
the coppice. Towards the close of each cycle, when the coppice has 
grown up, the dense shade cast by the bushes reduces the ground 
vegetation to a poor state. Extreme shade-plants alone can flourish 
under such conditions, and the ground is but sparsely dotted with 
1 In certain districts of the north coppicing on a large scale is 
met with, as in the Furness district of Lancashire, and also 
in central Scotland. This is generally in relation to a definite 
economic demand. 
' In parts of Cornwall, the extensive oak-coppices are cut once in 
about twenty-five years, and, towards the end of the rotation 
period, have the appearance of dwarf high-wood in close 
canopy. 
3 See Nisbet, “Our Forests and Woodlands,” London, 1900, 
where the distinction is made between copse, i.e., “coppice 
with standards,” and coppice, without standards. This 
distinction is so convenient that we have adopted it in the 
present paper, but it does not seem to be in general use 
among foresters. 
