Silviculture Treatment of Abandoned Pastures. 261 



openings occur throughout them to make room for a complete 

 plantation. Immediately after a fire is, of course, a very desir- 

 able time to plant, because the available room is almost unlimited 

 and the new sprouts grow slowly. 



Other Deciduous Brush. — Dogwood, Poplar and Alder are, also, 

 common species of brush. Dogwood and Poplar grow very much 

 like Birch and may be treated similarly that is, either cut when 

 young or reserved until of cordwood size. Alder may be cut like 

 young Birch. Sumac and Briers cast so slight a shade that their 

 removal is unnecessary. Where unusually dense, the planter can 

 hack them away with his mattock with little trouble from the im- 

 mediate neighborhood of each plant. 



Use of Fire. — The favorable condition for planting, both on 

 Scrub Oak and Birch lands immediately after fire, suggests that 

 carefully conducted burning might be the simplest way to rid 

 brush from land to be planted. For several reasons, however, fire 

 would probably not be the cheapest way to accomplish this pur- 

 pose. In the first place — almost every brush stand has a scatter- 

 ing of valuable species in it. The use of fire prevents the alterna- 

 tive of expense to protect this valuable reproduction, or sacrifice 

 of it. Secondly — the use of fire requires planting after, rather 

 than before, the removal of the objectionable cover. If the fire 

 does not kill the stools, the new sprouts will easily overtop the 

 planted stock, which would have much better chance if planted 

 before the clearing; and thirdly — on account of the lack of 

 shelter, large stock — three-year old transplants — must be used in 

 place of the cheap one-year old seedlings. 



