ALTERING EXISTING COVER 



649 



2. If trees producing goofl food or cipvcr occur in ihe area to be cut over, leave a few for 

 seed, feed and shelter. Where winter cover is deficient, do not cut or jjrune conifers. 



3. In establishing a clear-cut unit in a coniferous forest, leave a few hardwoods; in a 

 hardwood forest leave conifers if they are present. 



4. On rich moist sites, leave fewer trees than on dry sterile sites. 



5. Leave a few mast producers, particularly ''wolf" trees, such as large beeches, so long 

 as they do not provide shade sufficient to prevent maintenance of a satisfactory under- 

 story of food- and shelter-producing herbs and shrubs. 



6. Where practical, one or two clean strips, at least six feet wide, are desirable through 

 a cut-over unit to provide easier access. 



7. Remove merchantable logs and cordwood from each unit as cut. 



8. Cut stumps as low as practical. 



9. If a small lumilier of \(iUMg Irccs i> In lie left. fa\or species producing mast, cover, 

 palatable buds and leaves. Do not enc<iurage future stands composed almost exclusively 

 of one or two species. Preserve such shrubs as dogwoods, viburnum and witch-hazel. 



The problem of maintaining the herb and berry association in a cut-over area must also 

 receive some attention. As indicated in Chapter 111. under New York conditions desirable 

 food is only to lie found in such s|)ols as long as the crown rover, formed b\ the succeeding 

 vegetation, remains open. Few conifers. nati\e to the Northeast ever s])r()Ut from the stmnp. 

 Units located where evergreens were abundant, and not loo \ ahiablc. liicrcforc. |)ossc>s llic 

 advantage of low initial maintenance cost. On the other liand. inatn broad-leaved species 

 sprout prolifically. \\ here the trees to be removed arc mostly hardwoods, girdling or poison- 



AN IDEAL SMALL SLASHING. CLEAN CUT. IRREGULAR IN OUTLINE AND WITH EVERGREENS NEARBY 



