96 The Farm Woodlot 



operations consist of cutting clear strips through the 

 forest two or three times as wide as the trees are high and 

 in no case any wider than the wind will scatter the seeds. 

 The strips should run at right angles to the direction of 

 the prevailing wind. The seed from the trees on one or 

 both sides will then be scattered by the wind over the 

 strip and a new growth of little trees will result. As 

 soon as a strip is well stocked with new trees, usually in 

 a few years, another strip may be cut, and so on until the 

 entire forest has been harvested. 



Group system 



This system is the cutting and removal of ripe trees 

 in groups throughout the forest and allowing the seed 

 from the neighboring trees to supply the new trees. The 

 groups may be scattered and occur wherever the ripe trees 

 may be. (Fig. 27.) 



Coppice system 



This system can be used only with such trees as the 

 chestnut and some oaks that grow very abundantly 

 from the stumps of felled trees and soon restock the cut- 

 over area with new growth in the form of sprouts. (Fig. 28. ) 



In the choice of any system for the farm-forest or 

 woodlot, the one that meets the best needs of the owner 

 and is best suited to the kind of trees and existing condi- 

 tions should be practiced. The usual farm forest con- 

 sists of a mixture of species varying in size from small 

 seedlings to ripe trees. For such, the selection system is 

 the most natural and the best to practice, since it allows 

 the removal of trees of any size and at any time with- 

 out reducing the total forest area. 



