HARDWOOD RECORD 



In cutting and felling the first precaution 

 is to be careful of the young growth and to 

 have new trees of the most useful kinds re- 

 place just as soon as possible those that are 

 cut. All stumps should be cut as low as pos- 

 sible for high ones needlessly waste the best 

 timber of sound trees. Branches too small for 

 firewood should be scattered over the ground, 

 especially in openings, where they will help to 

 hold the leaf litter, keep out grass, and in 

 decaying enrich the soil, except, of course, 

 along railroads. Many trees, chestnut, bass- 

 wood, catalpa and the oaks and hickories, 

 sprout readily from the stump. If stumps 

 are cut very low and have the rough edges 

 carefully trimmed off with an ax their sprout- 

 ing capacity is greatly improved. 



In planting for post and pole material, 

 chestnut, Osage orange, catalpa, locust and 

 mulberry should be favored ; for handle stock, 

 white ash and hickory; for pulp, cottonwood, 

 Carolina poplar, basswood and willow; for 

 firewood, beech, maple, hickory and many 

 others; for lumber white oak, yellow poplar, 

 black walnut, white ash, black cherry, bass- 

 wood, elm and maple. Trees should stand 

 close enough together in youth to stimulate 

 growth in height and produce long, clear 

 trunks. Later more space for each will be 

 needed. Stands under ten years of age may 

 contain from 1,000 to 3,000 trees per acre. 

 This number should be gradually diminished 

 as the trees develop, until at maturity prob- 

 ably 200 of the original trees are left, that 

 the energy usually wasted in competition for 

 the "survival of the fittest" may be em- 

 ployed in growing timber. The composition 

 of the stand and the quality of its timber can 

 be controlled remarkably by gradually remov- 

 ing the trees of inferior quality and kind. 

 But there should be no large openings in the 

 woods, for the crowns of the trees should be 

 so close together that in summer very little ■ 

 direct sunlight falls upon the ground. The 

 soil should be loose, porous, rich in vegetable 

 mold. 



The amount of wood produced annually by 

 a fully stocked thrifty staud of timber in 

 this region depends upon the quality of the 

 soil and the species of trees. Bapid growers 

 on good soil may produce as much as 175 

 cubic feet per acre each year, which is equiva- 

 lent to almost two cords of four-foot wood, 

 but it is doubtful if an acre of the average 

 woodlot of this region produces more than 

 one-half a cord of wood per year under the 

 present unsatisfactory conditions. 



If the wood cut from the forest annually 

 or at stated periods does not exceed the 

 amount grown during the interval and care is 

 taken to keep the ground fully stocked with 

 thrifty young trees, the woodlot may be kept 

 up indefinitely. The endeavor should be to 

 ascertain about how much wood the area is 

 each year capable of producing and to cut a 

 little less than is' grown in order to be on 

 the safe side. In managing the woodlot the 

 goal should be this model condition. In dis- 

 cussing the methods required to accomplish 

 these results several common types of wood- 

 lots may be mentioned, and altliough it may 



be impossible to attain an ideal condition 

 much can be done toward it. 



A great many woodlots are merely parts 

 of 'the old hardwood forest which have been 

 preserved in their virgin condition, with long, 

 smooth trunks and compact crowns. In- 

 crease in height has practically ceased, and 

 growth in diameter is very slow. The trees 

 are mature, and many are deteriorating. In 

 Fuch stands the producing capacity is prac- 

 tically Udtliing, since the amount of wood 

 furmed aniuially is offset by the death and 

 deterioration of the over-mature trees. Thus 

 the forest capital is virtually inactive. The 

 dead and dying trees should be taken out 

 first, next the weed trees, and then those 

 which are crowding the best timber producers, 

 but not in large groups, exposing the re- 

 mainder; rather it should extend over a period 

 of years. In general, it is not safe to cut 

 out more than one-fifth of a stand at one 

 time, or to cut over the same ground oftener 

 than once in five years. The object should 

 be to leave the sound and thrifty trees, which 

 will continue to increase in value, well dis- 

 tributed over the tract. It is important to 

 maintain the humus and ground moisture in 

 every upland forest. No thinnings should be 

 so severe that grass will enter before the 

 openings are filled with young growth. 



A large proportion of the woodlots in the 

 Ohio valley region are remnants of the orig- 

 inal forest, which have received no care or 

 attention. They are the woods pastures so 

 common to farms. As a result of constant 

 grazing the ground is covered with a dense 

 sod to the exclusion of desirable young 

 growth. The standing trees are usually ma- 

 ture, growing in clumps or sparsely scattered 

 over the lot. Many of them are dry-topped, 

 diseased and scraggy. If the woods pasture 

 is located on land valuable for agriculture, 

 and the rejuvenation of the old forest is im- 

 practicable, it probably will be the best policy 

 to remove the timber and lay out the ground 

 into permanent fields. However, the first step 

 in the improvement of an open and grass- 

 grown woodlot is the exclusion of live stock, 

 or at least to fence off the thriftiest part as 

 a forest reserve, if all cannot be spared. The 

 rest can be cleared of most of its trees and 

 the pasture greatly improved. 



Another step is the removal from it of all 

 dead and badly diseased trees and those whose 

 reproduction is not desired. The remaining 

 trees will seed up the openings and provide 

 for natural regeneration. If other species are 

 desired it will be necessary to plant them. 

 Young seedlings for this purpose can be se- . 

 cured from other parts of the forest, or nuts 

 and acorns can be planted. The best time to 

 plant is in early spring. Next comes the 

 preparation of the soil for seeding and restor- 

 ation to the natural forest conditions. The 

 sod should be broken up by means of a bull- 

 tongue plow or a disk harrow. As soon as 

 good reproduction is secured the remaining 

 mature trees may be removed. It is usually 

 good policy, however, to retain a few large 

 trees to supply special needs of the farm. In 

 removing them care should be exercised to in- 



ftict as little damage as possible to- young 

 growth. The planting of a shelter belt along 

 the exposed margins of the woodlot is highly 

 desiraljle. 



There are many dense second-growth wood- 

 lots in this district. The trees range in size 

 from four to twelve inches in diameter and 

 twenty-five to fifty feet in height. In some 

 instances there are dense groups so evenly 

 matched in size that the development of all 

 is temporarily arrested. Often there is a 

 considerable proportion oi so-called weed 

 trees or those w^hich spread out and bush un- 

 til they occupy space all out of proportion 

 to their value. Occasional old trees remain 

 from "the first cutting; they are usually 

 crooked, limby and defective. Reproduction 

 in the dense shade of these old trees is scarce 

 and stunted. In such stands an improvement 

 cutting is needed, including all growth which 

 the woodlot would be better off without. As 

 a result this material can be used for fire- 

 wood. 



Very dense stands need thinning. This 

 should not be undertaken, however, without 

 a clear understanding of its objects. Trees 

 v\'hich have grown in the open are extensively 

 branched, while a typical forest tree has a 

 long, clear trunk and a short compact crown. 

 The amount of wood a tree produces depends 

 upon the area of leaf surface exposed to sun- 

 light — the larger the surface of the crown 

 the larger the amount of wood produced. 

 Trees which are crowded while young try to 

 get their crowns into the sunlight and conse- 

 ■ quently produce long, slim stems. When 

 straight trunks of sufiicient height have been 

 obtained thinning gives room for increased 

 root and foliage development, which is fol- 

 lowed by increased wood production. In thin- 

 ning a stand those trees should be left which 

 will be most valuable for final crop, and those 

 removed which have the smallest crowns, show 

 signs of deterioration, or are of less valuable 

 species. 



Thickets are common on cutover lands and 

 abandoned pastures. The trees vary from 

 three to twenty-five feet in height and diam- 

 eter up to four inches. Cleanings should be 

 made when the most serious crowding begins, 

 which will be when the trees are from ten to 

 fifteen years old. In general, no openings in 

 the crown cover should be made that will not 

 close in three or four years ; that is, not 

 more than two or three feet of open light 

 space should be left between the tops of the 

 trees remaining. The spacing in the stand 

 should be from six to nine feet each way, 

 though of course the arrangement will be 

 irregular. The material removed may have a 

 value for hop and bean poles or barrel hoops, 

 or part of it may be large enough for fire- 

 wood. A second cleaning should be made as 

 soon as the trees have begun to crowd sc- 

 rinusly af;ain, which will be about ten years 

 afl.T tijr tii-t. The timber removed this time 

 will jii.ilialilv liave considerable value for fire- 

 wood, posts, stakes and other uses. 



All of these suggestions for the manage- 

 ment of the woodlot are considered entirely 

 practicable by the Forest Service, and are 

 being carried out siiceessfully on a great many 

 farms in the Ohio river region. With a little 

 care and foresight every farmer can make his 

 woodlands a valu.Tble and attractive asset to 

 his farm. 



