618 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



aid which is practical in such a case? Can we apply its teachings so that 

 we gain the good without being led astray by theory? 



In the first place timber should be cut with the idea of preserving 

 it. To use timber without destroying the power of producing a future 

 supply is the leading principle of forestry. Some immediate gain must be 

 sacrificed in order to do this. It is very true that to cut the most desirable 

 and best timber will bring in the most money for the time, but it will 

 result in an almost worthless tract of timber. With proper treatment 

 the same amount of money may be obtained in the long run and the timber 

 not injured. 



Let us consider some of the methods forestry proposes in handling 

 a tract of timber so that it can be used to the best advantage with the 

 idea of perpetuating and improving it. 



There are three pretty well defined methods of cutting: 



1. The strip method. 



2. The selection method. 



3. The group method. 



In the strip method a narrow strip is cut through the woods, the 

 width of the strip is usually about the height of the trees. It is to be 

 covered over with natural reproduction and when this is^ safely accom- 

 pished another narrow strip is clean cut by the side of the first, and so on 

 until the whole tract has been cut over. 



One can readily see that some skill and forethought is necessary 

 here to secure the best results. For instance, the strip should not run 

 up and down a steep hill as when the protecting cover is removed the rains 

 will wash and deteriorate the soil. The cutting should be made the first 

 winter after the seed year of the species it is desired to favor in the wood 

 lot. The width of the strip should be adapted to the species desired. If 

 it has a heavy seed like the hickories, the strip should not be so 

 wide as when a light seeded tree is desired, like the ash or cottonwood. 

 Then, too. the width must bear a close relation to general conditions of 

 growth, such as moisture, light and suitableness of the desirable trees 

 for the climate if the strip is to be satisfactorily covered by young growth. 



The selection method is simply cutting out a single tree here and 

 there over the tract. The mature trees are taken and care is exercised to 

 get the openings stocked with valuable species. 



The group method is similar to the strip method except that the 

 openings are usually circular and much smaller. It differs from the selec- 

 tion method in that instead of a single tree a group of trees is taken out. 

 As in the other methods the desirable trees must be fostered by the size 

 of the opening and the proximity of seed trees. It has a great advantage 

 over the strip method in its greater adapability. 



In brief these are the principal methods of cutting timber accord- 

 ing to approved forestry management. But before any of these can be put 

 in practice the timber must be cleared up and put in good healthy condi- 

 tion. In short, what is known in forestry as an improvement cutting must 

 be made. The first thing is to clean out all the dead trees and down tim- 



