856 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



was all down grade, by wagon, over a poor road for the first mile. 

 Teams usually loaded 1.75 cords, and made two trips a day to the rail- 

 road siding, three miles distant. Sawlogs, railroad ties, and telephone 

 poles were banked along the road, and the principal contractor was 

 obliged to remove them at his expense. Fence posts were sold in the 

 woods. 



No difficulty was experienced in the disposal of the products. Owing 

 to the small size of the trees, the majority of the product was four- foot 

 wood. Extract companies and lime-kilns were the principal outlet for 

 this material, which was shipped to them at prices varying from $2.50 

 to $4, f. 0. b. Pleasant Gap, per cord of 128 cubic feet. 



In order to furnish a clear idea of the cost of the operation and the 

 profits to the Department of Forestry and the contractor, the table on 

 the following page has been prepared. 



In April, 191 7, the area then cut over was burned. The tract was 

 surrounded on all sides by well-traveled wagon roads which afiford ex- 

 cellent lines of control. The day selected for burning was somewhat 

 cloudy and still. A force of ten men was placed along the roads to 

 guard against the fire crossing into the wooded area. The burning was 

 started at the top of the ridge and on the east side, so that it would 

 travel down hill and towards the direction of the prevailing winds. A 

 complete burn was not obtained by this method, and a few days later, 

 under more favorable weather conditions, each pile was fired sepa- 

 rately. The entire area was thus completely cleaned of all brush and 

 debris at a total cost of $35.86, or $1.02 per acre. (Only 35 acres were 

 cut and burned.) The tract was then ready for planting. 



In the past the general policy of reforesting on the Nittany Forest 

 had been towards pure plantations of white pine ; but as an experiment, 

 and taking into consideration the site and the silvicultural requirements 

 of the various species, it was decided to use white pine and Scotch pine 

 mixed in alternating rows. 



The seedlings used were 35,000 three-year-old white pines, costing 

 $2.00 per thousand, and 22,000 two-year-old Scotch pines, costing $1.50 

 per thousand, raised in the State Nursey at Mont Alto. 



The planting was done by a crew of sixteen, composed of six mat- 

 tock men, six planters, one seedling carrier, one water boy, one extra 

 planter, and a forest ranger. The purpose of the extra planter was 

 to help any planter who was falling behind his mattock man. The trees 

 were spaced 5 feet by 5 feet, disregarding the presence of stumps and 

 sprouts. The burning of the brush completely destroyed the sprouting 

 capacity of a large number of stumps, and the chestnut blight will in all 



