214 Forestry Quarterly. 



An advocate of natural regeneration, Forst- 

 Difficulties meister Eulefeld, in an address to private 



in forest owners admits the difficulties which 



Regeneration. beset the methods of natural regeneration. 



The results of these methods in young 

 stands do not in most, or many, cases justify the hope that they will 

 grow into the same satisfactory old stands which we inherited from 

 the past. While soil exhaustion may have something to do with this 

 failure, conditions of soil cover and of the tree crowns are most es- 

 sential factors in the success of natural regeneration. 



The soil cover consists of humus layers and plants. While the 

 significance of the former is recognized, it is not well understood. 

 The soil surface conditions may offer almost insuperable difficulties 

 to regeneration. In the close deciduous woods an excess of foliage 

 litter prevents access of air to the lower strata and keeps out a soil 

 flora which would assist in desirable humification, or when thinned 

 out conditions are so changed, especially on south and west expos- 

 ures, as to produce a turfy humus, absence of time facilitating this 

 deterioration. In the dense coniferous forest on rich and moist soil 

 excessive moss growth is apt to come in on sand soils, and in open 

 stand heather, huckleberry, and moss make a dry, powdery humus. 



These malformations of the soil cover the forester must try to 

 avoid by early management of the stands. This is done by develop- 

 ing proper crowns, not broom-like, short crowns, occupying 1-6 of 

 the bole, which are the result of densest position; but crowns which 

 extend to 1-4, 1-3, or even a larger proportion of the bole length. 

 Rounded crowns with horizontal, much ramified branches are able 

 to re-establish easily a desirable crown cover after thinnings. They 

 admit a satisfactory degree of water, air, and light to the interior 

 and the foot of the trees, which expedites satisfactory humification. 



The herbaceous vegetation and the oxygen from water and air in- 

 crease and invigorate bacterial life, which, by assimilation of nitro- 

 gen and otherwise, influences tree growth to an as yet unknown ex- 

 tent. 



The increased access of light not only increases wood formation, 

 but, by increasing the albuminous reserve materials, stimulates seed 

 production of viable seed. Better seed is formed on polewood than 

 on the old trees which have stood in close stand. The lack of thin- 

 ning practice in the past seems to be the main reason for the dimin- 

 ished seed production and less frequency of seed years. 



To avoid the ills in the coniferous forest, especially the growth 



