192 Forestry Quarterly 



the slope may be at hand even when the slope is only one-half of 

 a mile or less in length. 



The general procedure followed in the application of the funda- 

 mental principles of subdivision to a portion of the Mont Alto 

 State Forest is outlined below. The work was done by the stu- 

 dents of the Forest Academy under the direction of the writer. 

 Messrs. W. Erdmann Montgomery and W. B. Bartschat devoted 

 considerable time to this subject in connection with their gradua- 

 tion theses. This does not attempt to show how a forest should 

 be subdivided, but rather how a forest may be subdivided. 



I. Preliminary Walks and Talks. — Before beginning field work 

 the forest organizer, whether he be the forester who has charge 

 of the area to be subdivided or a specialist detailed to do this 

 work, should hold a conference with the owner or administrator 

 of the forest. During the conference he should learn the desire 

 and purpose of the owner or administrator with special reference 

 to the degree of desired detail and the allowed cost of field work. 

 In addition, a general discussion of the proposed future manage- 

 ment would in many cases not be amiss, but might facilitate subse- 

 quent field activities. He should also gather and digest all avail- 

 able data contained in the records of the forest. 



After the conference the forest organizer should proceed to the 

 forest with his collected data and with a topographic map, if pos- 

 sible. A special topographic map of the region is preferable, but 

 in the absence of such a map a topographic map made by the 

 United States Geological Survey may be available. In the absence 

 of any map it will be necessary to construct a map, which need 

 not be elaborate but should be accurate. Supplied with the neces- 

 sary information and accessories the forest organizer should walk 

 over the forest. If the forest organizer be a person other than 

 the forester in charge of the area he should be accompanied by 

 the forester and, if possible, in case of second growth forests, 

 by a jobber who helped lumber the area some years ago. In the 

 course of these informative walks and talks he should familiarize 

 himself concerning the general topography, soil, composition of 

 the forest, silvicultural systems of management, road system, 

 markets, and special destructive agents such as storm and snow. 

 Much of the desired information can be obtained by visiting look- 

 out towers and high natural prominences, and making ocular sur- 



