54: FORESTRY BRANCH BULLETIN NO. 33 



making any openings or too heavily thinned areas that will cause great danger of 

 windfall. 



A similar system of cutting is followed in mixed stands of lodgepole pine, spruce, 

 alpine fir ('balsam'), and limber pine, the individuals of which are usually diversi- 

 fied in age as well as species. These stands are mainly on upper slopes, and do not 

 give evidence of as frequent occurrence of fire as the pure pine stands. They resemble 

 more closely than any other type some of the stands in the Rocky Mountains Forest 

 Reserve in Canada. The pure spruce stands have all been of very large tall timber 

 and on a very moist soil, so that the danger of wind-fall was great. On account of 

 the restricted size of the stands, which made it possible to leave belts of seed-trees 

 within reasonable distances of all parts of these areas, they have all been cut clear, 

 in doing which the restrictions of the strip system were observed. 



Applicability to Stands in Alberta. 



In pine stands of the Canadian Rockies, the selection system can be applied to 

 a much smaller extent than in Montana, since the northern stands are more even- 

 aged and uniform, and therefore adapted more to clear-cutting systems. Also the 

 heavier ground-cover usually found in the north makes reproduction of pine on the 

 natural seed-bed more difficult there, and it would not be reasonable to expect young 

 trees to start in the small openings made by a selection cutting. Thus, clear-cutting 

 in strips appears to be the system most applicable. 



A different attitude than that assumed in Montana must be taken toward spruce 

 stands, because they are much more extensive in Canada. Their larger area in the 

 north makes it practicable to follow methods of cutting that will protect the trees 

 reserved from being cut, secure reproduction of the spruce and maintain the stands 

 permanently as spruce stands. 



BITTERROOT AND KOOTENAI NATIONAL FORESTS. 



In western yellow pine and Douglas fir stands which were visited on the Bitter- 

 root and Kootenai National Forests, a system of cutting was followed which is not 

 directly applicable to Alberta stands, but is of indirect interest. This type is made up 

 mainly of yellow pine of large average diameter in stands rather open, compared to 

 spruce and lodgepole pine stands. The underbrush is very light, but grass grows in 

 considerable quantities. To obtain reproduction, a considerable number of trees must 

 be left for seed, and the crown cover should not be entirely destroyed or the grass 

 will get too strong a foothold. The method adopted was to remove approximately 

 two thirds of the timber, taking the larger and defective trees, and leaving thrifty 

 trees distributed as uniformly as possible. About 8,000 feet, board measure, per acre 

 were left on the average. A diameter limit of 18 in., very loosely applied, served as 

 a guide in marking. The amount of timber left was sufficient to make a second cut 

 profitable when young growth had become established, and, in the meantime, profit- 

 able growth will be made by the trees. This system would be applicable to Douglas 

 fir stands in which the average size of the individual trees was large. Such stands, 

 however, are in Alberta limited in extent. 



BRUSH DISPOSAL AND MARKING. 



On all the timber sale areas visited, the brush was disposed of by burning, and, 

 in practically all cases, it was placed in round piles and set on fire after a fresh fall 

 of snow had covered the ground and piles. The piling was done by the fellers and 

 swampers, and the burning by the forest rangers, in some cases with assistance when 1 



