662 IMPROVING AND MAINTAINING GROUSE COVERTS 



Plantings of the large shrubs and small fruit-bearing trees should be made next to the wood- 

 land trees. The spacing between the seedlings for this portion of the border is recommended 

 to be 6 feet. The small and medium sized bushes may be placed in the outer portion of the 

 border and next to the open land. Here the spacing may well be cut to 4 to 5 feet between 

 rows and plants. By utilizing the lower growing shrubs on the outside and the higher ones 

 next to the trees, a sloping border will develop which provides the greatest protection for 

 the woodland and the best conditions for fruit production. 



The economical establishment of the summer and fall feeding grounds demands that the 

 wildlife manager, wherever possible, should take full advantage of the opportunities for as- 

 sisting nature as a substitute for direct planting. A portion of the strip may be lightly burned 

 over, in scattered spots, with the expectation that desirable species for summer feeding grounds 

 will establish themselves naturalh. Blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, pin cherry and 

 popple all respond well to this treatment and furnish valuable summer and fall foods. Strict 

 control must be maintained since indiscriminate use of fire is very destructive. 



For the rest of the border, partial planting is often necessary in order to permit the shrubs 

 to become fully established, or dominant, before tree species can get a start. The proportion 

 to be planted will depend upon the need for additional shrubs, both as to the kind and num- 

 ber of them. 



Since the purpose of the shrub border is to furnish summer and fall feeding grounds, 

 the types chosen for j)lanting should be those which will furnish plentv of required food for 

 these seasons. A majority of the shrubs and small trees that will do this are also suitable for 

 planting. They are listed in table 97 together with the most essential site characteristics of 

 each. Arranged according to their type of growth, they are: 



Loic shrubs and vines Medium high shrubs Tall shrubs and small trees 



Bittersweet Panicled dogwood Thornapple 



Virginia creeper Hazelnut Apple and crabapple 



Wild rose Scrub oak Staghorn and smooth 



Fox grape Arrowwood sumach 



Riverbank grape Highbush cranberry Nannyberry 



Dwarf sumach Multiflora rose 



Some of these species are not among the most important grouse foods. Bittersweet. Vir- 

 ginia creeper and arrowwood, for example, do not rank high as grouse food in New York. 

 However, they arc included because thev do furnish a desirable part of the composition of 

 summer and fall feeding grounds. 



It is a good policy to plant at least four sjiecies in each shrub strip. One or two kinds 

 from each of the three height groups may be selected ami the species arranged in rows so that 

 there will be four or more rows in the entire border. 



As the sununcr and fall feeding ground develops, a number of tree species will nsualh 

 seed in naturally among the shrubs. If these are permitted to grow, they will eventually dis- 

 place the shrub border and convert it into a spring nesting grounds type of cover. To prevent 

 this, these trees should be eliminated periodically by <utling or poisoning. This may be done 

 when the adjacent woodland or tree cover is being weeded or thinned. By so arranging the 

 operation, little additional effort w^ill be required to maintain the shrub association. 



