BRUSH DISPOSAL IN WESTERN YELLOW PINE 

 By G. a. Pearson 



What method of brush disposal is most favorable to reproduction 

 of western yellow pine? This is a question which the Fort Valley- 

 Experiment Station has been endeavoring to answer during the last 

 12 years. A definite and unqualified answer has not been possible 

 for the reason that, owing to the slow movement of the natural proc- 

 esses involved, it has been difficult to secure conclusive data on the 

 subject. There is a widespread opinion among silviculture men that 

 the chances for reproduction are increased by leaving the brush upon 

 the ground in some form or other, either scattered, lopped, or pulled 

 tops. This opinion is based upon observation that in old cuttings 

 where reproduction is generally deficient, more seedlings are usually 

 found along logs and fallen tree tops than in the open. An experi- 

 ment initiated in 1908, in which brush was scattered on portions of the 

 area while other portions were left in their natural state, has given 

 negative results. In 1914 brush was scattered on strips in a small 

 plot which had previously been plowed and heavily seeded to pine. 

 At the present writing seedlings are nearly three times as numerous 

 on the brush-scattered strips as in the openings. In this instance, 

 the scattering of brush appears to have been a decided benefit. Exam- 

 inations of numerous cut-over areas show a similar tendency, though 

 in a less pronounced degree. On no timber-sale areas known to the 

 writer, however, has the presence of brush in any form proven a really 

 effective aid to reproduction. 



The extraordinary seedling crop of 1919 has afforded unprecedented 

 opportunities for studying this problem. Examinations on various 

 cutting areas on the Coconino and Tusayan this fall show that as a 

 rule seedlings are by far the least abundant in pulled tops ; they are 

 most numerous and of largest size on bare spots such as burned brush 

 piles, old roads, and areas around the stumps of felled trees. Open 

 grassy areas are intermediate between the two extremes. In the few 

 brush-scattered areas available for study, results approach pulled tops 

 or open areas according to whether the brush was scattered densely 

 or openly. 

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