Management of the Ruffed Grouse 353 



of hardwoods, then a few rows of conifers, and so on, in order to 

 develop a mixed stand. The total proportion of the planting to be 

 given over to hardwoods will depend largely on the need for bal- 

 ancing the existing woods and upon the type of wood products 

 wanted. The end result should be a fair balance between hard- 

 woods and conifers, the two taking eighty to ninety per cent of 

 the area, with the remainder in shrub borders and openings. 



Estabhshment of the hardwoods stand will be guided by existing 

 seed trees and by site conditions. Many of the hardwoods are no- 

 toriously diflBcult to establish on poor sites by planting. As far as 

 possible the better, that is, the more fertile and well-drained soils 

 should be given over to hardwoods. While many hardwood trees 

 are slow and difficult to establish by hand planting, many establish 

 themselves readily by natural seeding or by sprouting. Popples, cher- 

 ries, ash, maples, and sometimes many others, are often found to be 

 taking over old fields in the Northeast a few years after abandon- 

 ment. If seed trees of satisfactory species are located within a few 

 hundred feet (or one hundred feet for the more heavily-seeded 

 species), we may count on nature taking care of the hardwood 

 planting for us. Under those conditions, merely refrain from plant- 

 ing conifers where hardwoods are wanted ( see Plate 53A ) . On the 

 other hand, if seed trees of desired species are not close by, the 

 probability of getting a stand of good hardwoods where you want 

 them is remote. Then it is best to plant. 



A good mixture of several species is particularly important in the 

 hardwoods planting, both from the standpoint of ecology and from 

 the grouse food needs. Among the more important grouse foods that 

 come from trees, the most practical to establish by planting are: 

 the oaks (particularly white and northern red) (see Plate 54), 

 black cherry, and the maples, both sugar and red. Others may be 

 aided in establishment by planting seeds. A light spot-burning will 

 prepare the ground for the popples and pin cherry, and usually no 

 seeding will be required. The owner of the land will probably be 

 interested in other hardwoods too for their wood products or for 

 their value to other forms of wild life. Black walnut, hickory, but- 

 ternut, Asiatic chestnut, and oaks may be planted by using the 

 nuts— setting them twice the depth of their own long diameter in 

 the soil. (Here one should be cautious about rodent damage; plant 

 in years of low rodent abundance, or keep away from edges of 



