Management of the Ruffed Grouse 345 



In making game clearings it is well to follow the general rules of 

 forest cover improvement, and remove the trees of least value and 

 retain the best. Since we wish to keep a few mature trees in any 

 clear-cutting, these should be selected from the best shelter and 

 food species. As a general thing, if the cutting is in a stand predomi- 

 nantly hardwood, favor the conifers, and vice versa. 



When the usable wood products are removed from the cut-over 

 area, most of the slash may be disposed of by piling and then burn- 

 ing, preferably on snow. Some of the slash piles may be permitted to 

 remain as shelter for rabbits and grouse, say three or four piles per 

 acre. The burning will serve to stimulate the germination of certain 

 plants, thus adding variety to the cover. Among those commonly 

 taking over burns are the blueberries, scrub oak, and pin cherry. 

 Where burning is too hazardous, the surplus tops may be lopped 

 and scattered over the ground. 



SELECTIVE CUTTING TO IMPROVE FOOD 

 CONDITIONS IN THE V^HOLE WOODS 



If a woodland is being managed on a selective cutting basis, the 

 crop trees in an imeven-aged stand being removed when mature, 

 it is desirable to give some attention to the species that are impor- 

 tant in furnishing grouse food. These are mainly certain of the hard- 

 wood trees and they are primarily important as food sources in the 

 winter and early spring. 



Unfortunately, many of the important trees that furnish these 

 foods are considered weeds by many foresters because they are im- 

 important in the present-day lumber market. Seven tree species are 

 among the twenty-five primary food producers, and seven more are 

 in the group of forty-two secondary food sources. Among these more 

 important ones, beech, oak, apple, and cherry furnish nuts and 

 fruit; the birches, poplars, apple, hophombeam, and cherries supply 

 buds. Only the oaks are consistently regarded as "crop" trees for a 

 woodland harvest. In some areas black cherry is made into lumber 

 and the poplars are used for pulp. The rest are merely tolerated or 

 are often "persecuted" by those who have visions of forests of pure 

 lumber. Apple, of course, is an exception since it is not a woodland 

 tree. 



However, the concept of forests composed exclusively of the bet- 



