241 



The ordinary remedies of spraying with chemicals and the various 

 devices of "tree surgery" as appHed to shade and orchard trees are too 

 expensive to use on a large scale in the forest. Nevertheless, the 

 liability of a stand to disease or insect injury can be materially reduced 

 by proper silvicultural methods. 



If the principles of correct management are applied, the forest will 

 be kept clear of unhealthy old trees that act as breeding places for 

 insects and fungi, and will also be protected from overcrowding, fire, 

 and other evils that weaken the vitality of trees and predispose them to 

 disease. Well-spaced, thrifty, rapid-growing trees are seldom subject 

 to injury from this source. 



When a tree is found to be attacked by insects, the kind of insect 

 infesting it should be ascertained, and the best time for cutting learned. 

 If this is not done the tree might be cut when no insects were present, 

 and very little or no check offered to their spread. This not only 

 insures its utilization before its enemies have a chance to destroy it 

 completely, but removes a dangerous source of infestation from which 

 diseases or insects might spread to healthy specimens. The parts of 

 trees not used should be immediately burned. 



Cut timber should not be left in the woods, as it will not season 

 well; and there is great danger of insect injury, especially to hickory, 

 ash, oak, and elm. Peeling wood soon after it is cut will prevent the 

 attacks of many destructive insects, and will at the same time hasten 

 the seasoning process. This is especially true of hickory and ash, and 

 of all cut logs in the southern part of the state where termites are 

 abundant. The seasoned wood will resist decay much better than 

 unseasoned, and the various forms of preservation, such as creosoting, 

 will prevent both decay and insect attacks. 



A Forest Policy for the State 



The present condition of the forests of Illinois may be summarized 

 briefly. There is a large area of land in forest — nearly a million acres 

 in the twenty-six wooded counties estimated.* Most of this is more 

 suitable for timber production than for agriculture. While the forests 

 contain a great variety of valuable species, their silvicultural condition 

 is very poor, owing to short-sighted methods of cutting and to injury 

 from fire and grazing. Their productive capacity is therefore much 

 below normal. The woodland is nearly all divided into small tracts 

 and is owned chiefly by farmers, although some is in the possession of 

 mining or other companies. The ownership is not especially subject 

 to change, and therefore is favorable to forest management. On the 



See Table I, page 178. 



