8o TENDING OF WOODS 



pole woods, as upon the way it is performed depends the 

 future development of the woods ; the marking of the trees 

 should not therefore be left to a woodcutter, but it should be 

 done by the head forester or woodman himself. In felling, 

 every precaution must be taken not to injure the standing 

 crop ; tall trees should be lopped and topped if they are likely 

 to do damage in falling. 



Short, small-girthed trees can often be saved from damage 

 from falling timber by pulling their crowns partly to one side 

 with a rope or with a long hooked pole. When the logs are 

 being dragged out of the area, a stake should be held between 

 the log and the butt of any tree which is likely to get 

 rubbed. 



Woodcutters engaged in thinning dense crops should be paid 

 by the day, and not by piece-work, as otherwise they may not 

 take sufficient care. 



PRUNING 



Pruning is an expensive operation, and it should seldom 

 become necessary if woods are grown sufficiently dense from 

 the beginning. When this is done, the side branches get 

 killed off by the heavy shade before they get of any size, 

 they drop off, and the timber formed is clean. If, however, 

 woods have been grown in a too open manner, the trees will 

 probably bear a considerable number of branches below the 

 proper crown, which will reduce the value of the timber, and 

 it may be desirable to prune them if the species is of sufficient 

 value to warrant the expense. 



A dead branch can be of no benefit to the tree, while, if it 

 is allowed to remain, it will gradually rot, and this rot will 

 travel down the branch into the stem, and will probably spoil 

 a considerable length of timber below the branch. Moreover, 

 even if it does not rot, the branch will be gradually enclosed 

 in the stem, as it grows in girth, and will cause a hard knot 

 lying loose in the timber. A dead branch may therefore 



