28 



IMPROVEMENT THINNINGS IN 



TABLE III. 



French lot, North Andover, 33.6 acres, 851 cords. 



From this lot there have been sold 5 M of oak logs at $25 and 

 14 M of pine at $12, delivered at the mill. The ties have been de- 

 livered, and should net at least 50 cents on the lot (the cost of 

 hewing is included in " cutting"). Much of the wood has been 

 sold at prices up to $4 per cord yarded by the road. The opera- 

 tion, when all the wood is sold, will have paid for itself, paid for 

 planting up the clear-cut area and underplanting part of the thin- 

 ning, and returned some profit, estimated to be about $15 an acre. 



In the Schrafft lot in Weston, on about 25 acres, a damage cut- 

 ting was made where most of the growth (a medium hardwood 

 stand) had been killed a year or two previously, and so the wood 

 was largely dry. Here all the wood was cut by the cord at prices 

 varying from $1.50 to $2, with an average of $1.70 for 570 cords. 

 Most of the brush was burned by the acre at $5 to $6 per acre, 

 making an average cost of brush disposal of about 25 cents per 

 cord. The supervision cost was 15 cents per cord, making a total 

 cost with tools of about $2.12 per cord. This lot is not one of the 

 six averaged in Table I. 



CONCLUSION. 



As a forest insect the gypsy moth offers a distinct and important 

 problem. Its extermination can no longer be hoped for. In the 

 woodland its control by shade-tree methods is impracticable on ac- 

 count of expense, if not impossible. It has already been responsible 

 for the destruction of a large part of the growth on hundreds of 

 acres of woodland. Thinnings with the aid of parasites and diseases 

 offer a practical method of combating the moths in forest areas, 

 and an ultimate solution of the woodland problem. The result of 

 these methods will be the replacement of a large part of our oak 



