98 FARM FORESTRY 



black locust are examples of trees that reproduce themselves 

 by root suckers as well as by sprouts. 



Trees differ in their ability to produce thrifty sprouts. 

 Chestnut, black locust, willow, sugar maple, cottonwood, ca- 

 talpa and red oak are among the best sprouting trees. Hickory, 

 basswood, soft maple and ash also sprout well. Old trees 

 beyond 60 years usually lose their power of sprouting, so a 

 woodlot managed by this system must be cut early in life. 

 The trees should be cut in winter or early spring before the 

 new growth has started. If cut in summer sprouts will be 

 produced, but they will be killed by frost during the winter. 

 The stumps should be cut low so that the sprouts will not 

 easily be broken or blown off. The stumps should be cut 

 smoothly and in a slanting direction, so that they will shed 

 water and keep from decaying as long as possible. The bark 

 should not be injured or loosened from the stumps or the 

 sprouting ability will be lost. 



Sprout trees grow faster in early life, but rarely reach as 

 large size as do trees that have started from seed. A sprout 

 woodlot is used to grow poles, railroad ties, fence posts and 

 cordwood. Sawlogs are usually grown from seed trees. After 

 three or four generations of sprouts have been produced from 

 the same stump, the trees produced will be less vigorous and 

 have slower growth and shorter life. For this reason better 

 trees will be produced from the stumps of seedling trees than 

 from the stumps of sprout trees. So young trees that start 

 from seed in sprout stands should be encouraged to grow to 

 renew the trees and to keep the woodlot thickly stocked. 



Not all the sprouts that start from a stump should be 

 allowed to grow. Several of the best sprouts should be selected 

 and the rest either cut or broken off the stump, or the top of 

 each sprout broken to prevent further height growth. Later 

 the number of sprouts should be further reduced to not more 

 than two or three to each stump. Seedlings of trees are often 

 planted in sprout stands to fill in between the stumps, which 



