LECTURE V. 



SILVICULTURE, OR METHODS OF FOREST 

 CROP PRODUCTION. 



The main business and concern of the silviculturist is contained in the 

 reproduction of the wood crop, and his one obligation is that he must re- 

 produce, the crop which he has harvested in any year. 



As the farmer sows and reaps so the forester harvests and replaces, 

 although the methods of the two have little in common ; nor are the meth- 

 ods applicable which are used by the orchardist or the landscape gardener. 

 The tree which satisfies these does not at all satisfy the requirements of the* 

 forester, for his point of view, his aim, is a different one, and hence his 

 methods are his own. In fact, single trees are not his object any more than 

 the single grass-blade is the object of the farmer; the largest amount of 

 wood in the most saleable and profitable form is his aim, logs rather than 

 trees, and the financial results from their harvest. The final aim of the 

 silviculturist is, therefore, attained only when he has removed the old trees 

 and replaced them by a young crop. He grows trees in masses and for 

 their substance. Not only does he deal with trees in masses, but with trees 

 in natural conditions, being by financial considerations often limited in the 

 use of artificial aids and methods, such as the other tree culturists and the 

 farmer in his crop production may employ. 



Restricted as he is, or finally will be, to the poorer soils and conditions, 

 those least favorable to agricultural production, he is forced to the most 

 conservative management of the natural conditions in order to secure a de- 

 sirable result without too much expenditure, which his long-maturing crop 

 cannot repay. 



In every productive industry there can be recognized two branches : 

 namely, the business branch and the technical branch. 



The silviculturist is the one who handles the technical branch of the 

 business, namely, the production of the crop or material. 



The technical branch is divided into several sub-branches, the chief 

 among which are : Silviculture, Forest Protection, Forest Exploitation. 

 Silviculture is a branch of arboriculture. Forest Protection is the art of 

 protecting the forest from adverse agencies such as fire, storms, pests, etc. 

 Forest exploitation is the art of harvesting the forest growth to the best ad- 

 vantage. 



It is incumbent upon the silviculturist to secure continuity of favor- 

 able conditions in order to secure continuity of the crop. The forest man- 

 ager who looks after the revenue may often be found at odds with the sil- 

 viculturist, the pocket interest preventing the ideals of silviculture. 



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