CHAPTER IX 



NATURAL METHODS OF STARTING AND REPRO- 

 DUCING A WOODLOT 



WOODLOTS are reproduced naturally, as has been said, by 

 sprouts from the stumps of trees when cut and from seed 

 sown from trees. Most of our woodlots have been produced 

 naturally in one or the other of these ways, except in the 

 treeless regions. Natural methods of starting woodlots will 

 be the ones relied on by farmers where reproduction can be 

 secured, because they are much cheaper than artificial methods 

 and the new stand is started without any particular trouble 

 and often without expense or labor. In a region where trees 

 naturally grow there should be little difficulty in starting a 

 woodlot naturally from seed or from sprouts. 



SECURING A NEW STAND OF TREES FROM SPROUTS AFTER THE OLD 

 TREES HAVE ALL BEEN CUT, CALLED THE SPROUT OR, 

 COPPICE METHOD 



Sprout or coppice growth is one of the most common 

 methods and one of the surest methods of naturally reproduc- 

 ing a woodlot. The trees are all cut and the new stand starts 

 from sprouts from the stumps. This method is applicable to 

 broadleaf trees that sprout. Conifers or evergreen trees are 

 reproduced naturally only from seed. There are but few of 

 them that produce sprouts that grow to tree size such as the 

 redwood in the West and the shortleaf, loblolly and pitch pines 

 in the East. Some broadleaf trees will also start from sprouts 

 from the roots called root suckers, especially when the roots 

 have been injured or bruised. Poplar, beech, wild plum and 



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