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VALUATION. 



We give below an estimate of the value of the timber growth which 

 is of commercial value and is found on the city-owned land. This is 

 the stumpage value, that is, the value as it stands before being cut. 



Blossom Grove type, 3 acres, 100 M. board feet timber, ..... $1,000 



Large cedar swamp, 29 acres, 900 cords of wood, at $100 per acre, . . . 2,900 



Pine and hardwoods, 102 acres, at $40 per acre, ...... 4,080 



Large hardwoods, 81 acres, at $50 per acre, ....... 4,050 



Medium hardwoods, 230 acres, at $20 per acre, ...... 4,600 



Small hardwoods, 405 acres, at $14 per acre, ....... 5,670 



Maple, pine and hemlock, 42 acres, at $75 per acre, . ..... 3,150 



Total stumpage of the woodland, not including that of the maple swamp, is . 25,450 



THINNING. 



The principle which underlies thinning is to be found in the struggle 

 for existence and the survival of the fittest. For instance, on sprout 

 land just cut off, a large number of young shoots spring up. For a 

 time all grow vigorously, but as their crowns spread and meet a struggle 

 ensues, during which the less active members are overtopped and cut 

 off from the sunlight, and they die. There are exceptions. Hemlock 

 and maple are what are called tolerant trees, and continue to live, 

 although in deep shade. This conflict is not confined to any one 

 period in the life of the forest, but is going on all the time. In this 

 struggle much moisture and mineral elements in the soil are used up 

 by trees which will never amount to anything, which elements had 

 better be taken up by those who will. 



For the purposes of thinning, four classes of trees are distinguished, 

 dominant, intermediate, suppressed and dead. Dominant trees 

 are those which have their crowns in the light. The intermediate are 

 crowded between the dominant, and are destined to be suppressed. 

 Suppressed trees are those below the intermediate class, and have been 

 cut off altogether from the sunlight; they will die in a few years. An 

 average thinning would involve the taking out of all the suppressed 

 and many of the intermediate class. In watershed protection we must 

 be careful not to let in sun enough to dry the soil; so the intermediate 

 class should be cut with care. Dead trees have lost their power of 

 injuring other growth, but, as they furnish needless food to a forest 

 fire, they should also be removed. 



Other things than position determine what trees to come out. One 

 of these is the species. Certain kinds are more valuable than others, 

 and, other things being equal or nearly so, the most valuable species 

 should be left. The order of preference in the neighborhood of Fall 



