lOO FOREST commissioner's REPORT. 



There is no doubt that these products could be made from paper 

 birch, but it is doubtful whether, under present conditions, their 

 manufacture would prove profitable. Except under peculiarly 

 favorable circumstances the handling of the tops is rather ex- 

 pensive, there is not a large amount of waste at the mill which 

 could be utilized, and the cost of marketing the charcoal would, 

 in many cases, be about as much as it would bring. 



A more practicable form of saving lies in the direction of the 

 more complete utilization of sound red heart. This is already 

 used to some extent for the cheaper grades of spools and for 

 novelties, and could doubtless be used in this way still more 

 widely. 



SYSTEMS OF MANAGEMENT. 



The point to emphasize in the management of paper birch, 

 whether pure or mixed, is that the type is preeminently a tem- 

 porary one. It is the connecting link between the original per- 

 manent type of the virgin forest and the similar type which will 

 take its place when natural conditions, now disturbed by fire 

 or clearing, are restored. This means that a birch stand can 

 not be replaced by a birch stand indefinitely except by planting, 

 or, possibly, by burning over the area to bring about those con- 

 ditions which first brought it into existence. This point should 

 constantly be borne in mind, since it has an important influence 

 on the method of cutting to be employed. 



There are three distinct systems of cutting which are appli- 

 cable to birch stands under different conditions: i. Cutting to 

 a diameter limit to utilize the young growth to the best advan- 

 tage. 2. Clean cutting of pure stands to secure sprout repro- 

 duction. 3. Complete removal of birch from mixed or changing 

 types to give way to species which are more valuable or better 

 adapted to the locality. 



I. Cutting to a diameter limit is applicable to middle-aged, 

 pure stands, usually more or less even aged, but which show 

 considerable variation in diameters. The object of the cutting 

 is to free the smaller trees, which would otherwise soon be 

 suppressed and killed out, and to leave them for a second cut 

 ten or twenty years later. There is no intention of securing 

 reproduction, the aim being rather to utilize the present stand 

 to the best possible advantage. Cuttings of this sort should 

 be made when the stand is from 40 to 50 years old, and should 



