THE FOREST FROM A SILVICULTURAL STANDPOINT. 



21 



of hardwoods; a few years later, however, a vigorous growth of young 

 pine will be seen pushing up, and from this time on both the Shortleaf 

 and the Loblolly will overtop the hardwoods and develop rapidly to 

 maturity. If left to nature and protected from tire, pine is bound to 

 be the dominant species. The locality is natural pine land, and in the 

 past the percentage of this species was probably much greater than it 

 is at present. 



Even if such a thing were possible, it should, however, never be 

 the object of management to exterminate the hardwoods. When 

 present to a limited extent they serve a very useful purpose by forc- 

 ing the young pine to grow up straight and free from branches, and 

 they are also exceedingly valuable for the protection they afford the 

 soil. As a pure pine forest approaches maturity it thins out very 

 rapidly and the soil tends to deteriorate, as the crowns of the pine 

 afford insufficient shelter against the action of sun, wind, and rain. 

 If a growth of hardwoods is present under the pine the soil is much 

 benefited, both from the shade afforded and from the humus which will 

 gradually collect. Hardwoods, then, are a secondary but very useful 

 factor in the forest growth. The ideal condition is that they should 

 not be present in such numbers as to interfere with the best develop- 

 ment of the pine, but should be sufficiently represented to afford pro- 

 tection to the soil and force the pine to produce clear, straight boles. 

 In other words, they should serve as a nurse for the pine in youth 

 and should form a second story under it as the forest grows older. 



If care is taken to protect the tract from fire there is every reason 

 to expect that after lumbering in a pine ridge forest an excellent 

 reproduction of pine will develop, and that this reproduction will, in 

 years to come, produce a stand of mature timber superior to that of 

 the present day. 



The stand of merchantable pine on the pine ridge type is shown 

 below. 



Table No. 7.— Average stand of merchantable pirn /» r acre on the pine ridge type, for 

 Shortleaf and Loblolly, and the two species combined, for trees over 12 inches in diameter 

 breasthigh. 



[Average of 1,516 acres.] 



