26 



IMPROVEMENT THINNINGS IN 



lots, totalling 191.9 acres, from which were cut 2,121 cords or 

 equivalent. The six taken together give a fair average of the con- 

 ditions that are likely to be met in thinnings. They do not repre- 

 sent any cuttings in small growth. The average number of cords 

 per acre was 11; high, 25*4; low, 7. On all of these lots the brush 

 was burned and the place cleaned up. Most of the work was done 

 by day labor, but some by the cord. The average result shows a 

 small profit if wood can be sold at $3 per cord on the lot, which 

 can be done almost anywhere in the moth-infested region. 



TABLE I. 



Average of six lots, 191.9 acres, 2,121 cords. 



i Five lots. 



Table II. gives the data for a thinning in a 30 to 40 year hard- 

 wood stand of medium size. The growth was 80 per cent, of oak 

 with the rest pine and resistant hardwood, mostly maple. A purely 

 resistant cutting was not made, but practically all white oak was 

 taken and enough of the other species were left so that the forest 

 cover was not seriously broken. This thinning is typical of the 

 first stage in the remaking of an oak growth into one of a resistant 

 character. It is expected that the place will be sprayed in the 

 future when necessary, but at a greatly reduced cost over former 

 sprayings. After this thinning, part of the area is ready for under- 

 planting of pine, and part of it has sufficient pine reproduction so 

 that planting will be unnecessary. All oak brush was cut and all 

 brush and slashings burned. This thinning is especially interesting 

 because when the wood is all sold it will have paid for itself and 

 made a small profit, about $5 an acre for the owner. The 

 work was done wholly by experienced day labor under a competent 

 foreman. 



