12 SEEDING AND PLANTING 



13. Clear-cutting Methods. When the seed trees are wholly 

 or for the most part in adjacent stands, the seed must have great 

 carrying power and be distributed over the area for a considerable 

 number of years. All methods of reproduction from seed trees 

 not standing over the area to be regenerated are much more un- 

 certain than either the selection or shelterwood method. When 

 the area is clear-cut or denuded by fire or other causes, soil dete- 

 rioration is likely to occur and the ground become covered with 

 a more or less dense growth of herbage, making regeneration 

 more and more difficult the longer it is delayed. Clear-cutting 

 methods are all more or less unreliable, and, when used, we should 

 expect to supplement them by artificial regeneration. When regen- 

 eration is wholly or in part from seed trees standing on areas 

 adjacent to the tract where reproduction is to be effected, the 

 methods are as follows: 



a. The strip method, i.e., when the woods to be regenerated are 

 clear-cut in strips. 



b. The group method, i.e., when the woods to be regenerated 

 are clear-cut in patches. 



c. The scattered seed tree method, i.e., when the woods to be 

 regenerated are clear-cut with the exception of scattered seed 

 trees. 



14. THE STRIP METHOD. In general, the effectiveness of the 

 strip method depends upon the width of the strips, i.e., the nar- 

 rower the strips the more abundant and uniform the distribution 

 of the seed and, under favorable soil conditions, the better the 

 reproduction. The success of this method depends also upon the 

 points of attack, i.e., the direction of the strips in reference to 

 the prevailing wind and the shade cast by the remaining stand. 



15. THE GROUP METHOD. When the area to be regenerated 

 is clear-cut in patches, the openings should be small. The smaller 

 they are the better and more uniform the reproduction and the 

 closer the approach to the selection or the shelterwood method. 

 In the practice of this method, advantage is usually taken of 

 openings already existing in the stand due to wind or other causes, 

 and their area is gradually increased with the progress of repro- 

 duction (Fig. 7). This method of reproduction is most acceptable 

 for use in uneven-aged stands of wind-resistant species. 



16. THE SCATTERED SEED TREE METHOD. This method can 

 seldom be depended upon to attain satisfactory reproduction. It 



