10 Forestry Quarterly 



dominant part of any stand, is quite free from the difficulties 

 involved in the volume of the fully stocked stand used as criterion. 

 Summing up, we may come to the following conclusions: 



1 . The height is a sensitive measure. A change of a few hundred 

 feet in altitude at the proper point is promptly indicated in the 

 change of height. White and Norway pine on Jack pine lands 

 show the site clearly and unmistakabl}^ in their height and this 

 at any stage of their life. It is the height which characterizes 

 Scrub oak, Jack pine. Bog spruce and the timberline stands. 

 European experience fully bears out this fact. 



2. The height is independent of mixture and stocking. Height 

 in a broken stand of White or Norway pine, of Loblolly or Longleaf , 

 is not affected by this condition. Again, even in a crowded stand, 

 within limits, the height of Spruce, Hemlock, Douglas fir, etc., and 

 even our hardwoods, remains little affected, so that an old dogma 

 built itself on this misinterpreted observation, crediting crowding 

 with stimulus of height growth. The height of White pine in 

 mixture with hemlock and hardwoods is entirely independent, 

 each kind going its own gait and reaching its own normal limits, 

 and so clearly expressing that a particular acre is site I for pine 

 and site HI or IV for maple or beech. 



3. The height of a few trees and their age (the diameter-height 

 relation is of no value here) is easy to determine, and where very 

 large old timber exists the general age and size indicate correctly 

 the site. Even the White pine stump may prove quite clearly 

 the quality of the land. 



As to the limits, they are set by the timber. The number of 

 site classes will probably remain debatable ground. Four classes 

 would seem quite sufficient, though the fifth class is convenient to 

 include that class of forest where timber is scrub and all expenses 

 are cut to the possible minimum, and where no real income of 

 value is expected. Oiu" Bog spruce, part of the Scrub oak, and 

 Jack pine lands, a large area of timberline coimtry come in this 

 class. 



So far, site classification has followed the old trail and attempted 

 classification for each species. The German standard of 1888 

 combined spruce and fir and so recognized the important fact that 

 we are dealing here with a classification of a simple dimension and 

 that one set of limits of size may very well apply to all species which 

 reach a certain size or yield at a certain age. In other words to 



