12 Forestry Quarterly 



small loads have been found to be most economical, so that the 

 wood roads are comparatively narrow and inexpensive. The 

 labor is drawn from the farming sections. These men are of 

 Scotch and Dutch descent for the most part, and make careful, 

 trustworthy workmen. These two factors, cheap roads and effi- 

 cient labor, have had a marked effect on the condition of the cut- 

 over areas. There are no denuded slashes with every .stick of 

 timber cut or blown down. But the most important single factor 

 which has led to a culling of the woods rather than stripping, has 

 been the requirement of the English market to which most of the 

 Nova Scotian lumber has been shipped. The standard in the 

 English market is the " deal," a board three inches thick and at 

 least seven inches wide and ten feet long. This has been equiv- 

 alent to demanding that trees should be cut to a diameter limit 

 of 12 inches breast high, since that is the .smallest tree that will 

 yield a y-incli board of sufficient length to make it worth while 

 cutting. 



In some regions such a culling process would leave a forest in 

 poor condition. For example, on a steep .slope the removal of 

 the larger trees would expose the smaller to the wind. But 

 Nova Scotia is not a country of high mountains and steep .slopes, 

 so that the danger from windfall, even with such .shallow-rooted 

 species as .spruce and fir, is very slight. lyikewise, with intoler- 

 ant species, cutting the larger trees would leave no trees of the 

 valuable .species to seed the area. But spruce and fir are toler- 

 ant species, and in a virgin forest all ages are found, so that 

 when the big trees are cut, there are plent}^ of immature trees to 

 take the place of those removed. Another reason why .spruce is 

 especially adapted to a selection system of cutting is that spruce 

 and fir reproduce best on a humus-covered soil in partial shade. 

 Perhaps, instead of saying that .spruce reproduces best under 

 such conditions, it would be more accurate to say that the hard- 

 woods do not reproduce well except in direct sunlight and on 

 mineral soil where the delicate .seeds can strike root immediately. 

 Hence, as long as only the larger trees are cut from a spruce for- 

 est and the soil is not exposed to direct sunlight, the composition 

 of the stand will remain the same ; always assuming, of course, 

 that fire is kept out. 



The forest fire problem is not a serious one in Nova Scotia. 

 Droughts are infrequent and except in mining sections public opin- 



