i{84 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



of 1919 in the same relative proportions into which they divided that 

 of 1903, only 7.3 per cent of the stand above ten inches will then be 

 spruce. 



This is probably a conservative estimate, for it seems evident that 

 the fighting ability of the spruce has been greatly diminished since the 

 past cut. But aside from the above assumption, the data would indi- 

 cate that it will not take very many cuts of spruce on the diameter-limit 

 basis to eliminate spruce as a commercial species from these areas. 



PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS 



In applying data of this kind, collected on restricted areas, one must 

 be careful not to apply the conclusions too generally. Therefore the 

 term "hardwood lands" in the discussion of the practical application 

 of these data should be understood as referring only to hardwood land 

 where conditions exist similar to those observed on these two areas. 



These data indicate that hardwood lands when managed for spruce 

 require more intensive methods. 



The first step in this direction is to "scrap" the diameter-limit idea. 

 The diseased spruce — spruce which will not be freed by the cutting and 

 spruce which have been so badly suppressed that they probably will not 

 recover — should be cut to the lowest possible size. As much of the 

 hardwoods should be cut as the market conditions will permit. As 

 many small and medium, well topped, free spruce should be left as lum- 

 bering conditions and the danger from windfall will allow. In other 

 words, the timber should be marked by a man who knows all that is 

 known about the silviculture of this type of forest and who at the same 

 time knows the market conditions with which he is contending. 



It should be kept in mind, however, that these are only temporary 

 measures, and that possibly no satisfactory system of managing hard- 

 wood land for spruce can be found short of clear cutting and planting 

 as put into practice by Fernow at Axton.^ Most companies are now 

 getting their supply of spruce from remote areas. It would not be good 

 business policy for these concerns to plant these remote areas before 

 all those near at hand had first been reforested. It therefore follows 

 that a company may be practicing the best of forestry if it disregards 

 for the time being spruce growth and reproduction on its far-away 

 lands, provided, however, that in lieu of the outlying districts it re- 

 plants those lands within easy distance of its mill. Systematically pur- 



^ Silviculture at Axton and in the Adirondacks Generally, by R. C. Bryant, 

 Journal of Forestry. Vol. XV, No. 7, pp. 891-895, November, 1917. 



