<)08 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



very soon after falling, while the balsam seeds lie over until spring, and 

 thus find a more favorable growing period. Murphy, however, does 

 not admit a striking difference in moisture requirements. He says : 



"Balsam possesses the two distinct advantages over spruce of a plentiful supply 

 of seed annually and of a decidedly more rapid growth, particularly in the seed- 

 ling stage. While moisture, seed bed, and to a great extent the light require- 

 ments are the same for both, the more rapid growth of balsam enables it to 

 extend its root system more vigorously and thus become established more quickly 

 and more firmly under seed-bed conditions in which spruce, although germinating 

 with equal facility, is later exterminated through subsequent drying out of the 

 upper layers before its roots have become firmly established. 



SUMMARY 



By cutting to a diameter limit of 12 to 14 inches for softwoods in the 

 hardwood type, the following conditions result : 



1. The remaining stand of softwoods is often so small per acre as to 

 make logging of the left-over stand expensive. 



2. There is no increased growth of the remaining stand. 



3. The small openings made by the removal of the scattering soft- 

 woods are taken up by second-growth fir. 



4. The small openings made by the removal of the scattering soft- 

 woods are taken up by the hardwoods. 



5. The forest is surely being turned into a pure hardwood growth. 

 In the cases where the hardwoods were taken, too, the indications 



are that a considerable increased amount of reproduction of softwood 

 is coming in. The new growth is more fir than spruce, however. 



By cutting to a diameter limit of 12 to 14 inches in the spruce types, 

 the following conditions result : 



1. The remaining stand blows down if on thin soil. If on fairly deep 

 soil, some trees will stay up for a number of years, but the first case 

 is the more common. 



2. No increased growth. 



3. The cost of logging greatly increased. 



4. Reproduction very good, but more fir than spruce. 

 By clean cutting a spruce flat : 



1. Reproduction is ample. 



2. No loss of trees by the wind occiu's. 



3. Cost of logging is reduced. 



The summary for clean cutting is based only on the Lincoln Pond 

 region. I am not willing to say that every area would respond the 

 same, but I am of the opinion that clean cutting, carefully done, will 

 reproduce better than is commonly supposed. 



