66 THE BOOK OF FORESTRY 



for them to thrive, so that a second thinning is neces- 

 sary four to five years later. Subsequent thinnings are 

 made from time to time, depending upon the needs of 

 the seedlings beneath, until the last of the old parent 

 trees are removed and the young stand of timber beneath 

 is exposed to the full sunlight. This method of repro- 

 ducing a stand by cuttings is known as the "stand 

 method," or the "method of successive thinnings," and 

 is especially to be commended in regions where the 

 forests cannot be clear cut or with heavy-seeded species. 



"Where light-seeded species form the forest, strips two 

 hundred to three hundred feet wide may be cut across 

 the direction of the prevailing wind, and then the un- 

 touched strip of forest on the side will scatter seed upon 

 the open area and gradually cover it with a dense crop 

 of young seedlings. Or if the trees are especially wind 

 firm, the entire forest may be clear cut, leaving five to 

 ten trees per acre, and from these trees seed will be 

 scattered that will start the second generation upon the 

 cleared land. 



Another type of starting forest growth called cop- 

 picing is practiced with species which have the prop- 

 erty of sprouting from the root collar. Chestnut, maple r 

 ash, oak, basswood, all yield readily to this type 

 of treatment, and if cut young enough a dense thicket 

 of sprouts will spring uf which matures rapidly and 

 produces a splendid crop of timber. This type of man- 

 agement, however, should not be used too many times 

 in succession, as the vitality of the stand becomes low- 

 ered by repeated coppicings and the soil becomes ex- 

 hausted from too frequent exposure to the intense rays 

 of the sun. 



The statement is often made that far better lumber 

 can be produced by cutting off the lower branches of 



