FARMERS SHOULD PRACTICE FORESTRY 141 



these animals aid in scattering the seed under fav- 

 orable circumstances. It is also noteworthy that 

 the most vigorous sprouts come from the clean, 

 well-cut stumps from which the trees were cut 

 during the late fall, winter or early spring before 

 the sap begins to flow. The top of each stump 

 should be cut slanting so that it will readily shed 

 water. The trees that reproduce by sprouts in- 

 clude the oak, hickory, basswood, chestnut, gum, 

 cottonwood, willows and young short-leaf and 

 pitch pines. 



In order that the farm woodland may be kept 

 in the best of productive condition, the farmer 

 should remove for firewood the trees adapted only 

 for that purpose. Usually, removing these trees 

 improves the growth of the remaining trees by 

 giving them better chances to develop. Trees 

 should be cut whose growth has been stunted 

 because trees of more rapid growth crowded them 

 out. Diseased trees or those that have been seri- 

 ously injured by insects should be felled. In 

 sections exposed to chestnut blight or gypsy moth 

 infection, it is advisable to remove the chestnut 

 and birch trees before they are damaged seriously. 

 It is wise management to cut the fire-scarred 

 trees as well as those that are crooked, large- 

 crowned and short-boled, as they will not make 



