A NATIONAL PLAN FOB AMERICAN FORESTRY 1039 



(2) Neglect of reasonable measures for preventing or checking 

 attacks of diseases and insects, and also those practices which favor 

 the spread of destructive pests. 



(3) Destructive exploitation. That exploitation is destructive 

 which (a) destroys potentially usable timber without using it; (6) ren- 

 ders natural reproduction of good species uncertain or impossible 

 (unless the operation is followed promptly by effective artificial re- 

 forestation) ; (c) depletes the growing stock in quantity or quality so 

 that the forests of an economic unit are incapable of maintaining a 

 continuous production ; or (d) increases unnecessarily the hazard from 

 fire, insects, diseases, and storms for either the remaining or the 

 succeeding stand or for neighboring forests. 



(4) Clearing of forest land not needed for agriculture or other use, 

 where the physical and economic conditions are so unfavorable to such 

 use that abandonment and reversion to a state of idleness are fairly 

 certain. 



(5) Improper silvicultural practices, resulting in unsatisfactory 

 stocking, reduction in yields, and in the productive capacity of the 

 soil, deterioration in quality of the product and reduction in net 

 income. 



It is desirable that all of the above practices be checked or corrected. 

 It probably is not desirable and certainly is not practical at the 

 present time, to correct all of them through mandatory regulation by 

 public agencies. 



PRACTICES TO WHICH OPTIONAL REGULATION MIGHT APPLY 



Up to a certain point, the right of the public to exercise mandatory 

 control is generally recognized, at least in theory. Beyond that point, 

 depending on local conditions, regulation will be feasible only if it is 

 acceptable to the owners and shared by them. As has been pointed 

 out, the public can compel individuals to desist from practices which 

 will result in direct injury to other individuals or to the public. The 

 right of the public to interfere for the purpose of maintaining the yields 

 of private forests at a high level is less well established. 



Practices which are undesirable chiefly because they reduce the 

 owner's income and depreciate the value of his property include the 

 following : 



(1) Premature cutting of immature or economically unripe timber 

 of desirable species and quality, especially where this is done at a loss. 



(2) Wasteful methods in woods and mills. 



(3) Premature turpentining of timber that is too small, and 

 turpentining methods leading to waste of the timber. 



(4) Improper or inefficient silvicultural practices, such as: 

 (a) Choice of species not suited to the site. 



(D) Carelessness as to the source of seed for raising planting stock, 

 resulting in the use of races ill-adapted to the site. 



(c) Adoption of too short rotations, leading to deterioration of the 

 site, difficulty of natural reproduction, and production of inferior 

 material. 



(d) Reliance on coppice rather than seed to establish the new stan 



(e) Failure to maintain the optimum density of stand, or to thin 

 and weed as necessary. 



(f ) Failure to reforest or afforest bare areas resulting from earli 

 logging, fires, etc. 



