306 Forestry Quarterly. 



"To furnish definite data on the character of chestnut" as a basis 

 for forest management is the purpose of the bulletin, the data for 

 which was collected recently in Connecticut through co-operation 

 with the Forest Service. Problems of silvicultural treatment, of 

 utilization, and of the profits to be derived from chestnut are con- 

 sidered. The volume tables showing contents and values obtainable 

 from chestnut trees in cubic feet, cordwood, ties, piles, poles and 

 lumber undoubtedly are the chief items of interest. 



Chestnut is the leading commercial tree of Connecticut, being 

 estimated to compose over one-half the timber in the State. The 

 virgin forest was exhausted before the Revolutionary War and the 

 present stands of chestnut are of sprout growth. Emphasis is laid 

 on the need of caring for forest crops as well as for farm crops. 



The benefits of thinning and methods of making them are briefly 

 explained. In this connection should be mentioned the excellent 

 diagrams and photographs of stands before and after thinning. 

 They will prove highly instructive to inexperienced men who desire 

 to make thinnings. 



The harvesting of the crop is advised on a rotation of 50 years, 

 to be varied according to market conditions; while a modification 

 of the coppice system can be used in cutting, leaving occasional 

 standards of long-lived species, like white oak and hickory. The 

 author states that the trees should be left in groups to prevent 

 damage through windfall or windshake. That this damage would 

 result in the case of such well-rooted, tough species as white oak 

 and hickory seems highly improbable. 



Under the head "Timber Estimating" the fact is brought out 

 that the average farmer is not able to estimate standing timber and 

 that consequently in selling his wood he is at the mercy of the 

 lumberman. The farmer can use to advantage a systematic method 

 of estimating. As providing such a method, volume tables are de- 

 fined and their application in estimating standing timber is ex- 

 plained. The usefulness of the volume tables here presented would 

 have been increased had they been based on both diameter and 

 height, instead of on diameter alone. If the average heights cor- 

 responding to each diameter were shown in the tables, this defect 

 would be less noticeable. As it is, the use of the tables, even in 

 southern New England, may often give widely inaccurate results. 



Figures of cost for logging ties, piles, poles, cordwood and lum- 



