1478 A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



resort to planting. A considerable proportion of the commercial 

 timberland of this type is on farms where intensive forestry is en- 

 couraged by accessibility of markets, prevalence of good sites, and 

 ease of management. 



As the pines are usually more valuable than the hardwoods with 

 which they are generally found, encouragement will be given the pines 

 in the early stages in stands where their growth and development are 

 unduly hindered by ^ the hardwoods. This may take the form of 

 pasturage or of weeding operations to liberate the pines and to pre- 

 vent whipping of the tops. Some thinnings will be needed in loblolly 

 stands to encourage rapid diameter and height growth. 



In the piedmont country from Virginia to Alabama the prevailing 

 type is the somewhat less productive oak-pine type, the greater part 

 of which is included in farms. As a consequence of unregulated 

 cutting and repeated fires, low-grade oaks have largely monopolized 

 the ground at the expense of the more valuable shortleaf and loblolly 

 pine. Pine reproduction can be encouraged through weeding prac- 

 tices which will stimulate the pine and enable it to keep ahead of the 

 oak sprouts. As the southern pine beetle often damages the short- 

 leaf pine in this type, it is desirable to maintain good growth on the 

 pine by occasional light thinnings. This is especially desirable for 

 the reason that often the shortleaf, if once suppressed, does not again 

 rapidly build up its crown, tending to develop "watersprouts." 

 Trees attacked by the beetle should be removed from the stand. 

 B In those parts of the Tennessee Valley where a limestone forma- 

 tion is prevalent, the valuable red cedar should be encouraged. This 

 can be done by heavily thinning the intermixed pines or oaks so as 

 to give the cedar sufficient room for rapid growth. 



With active extension ^ and educational work much of this type 

 might be brought under intensive forestry, because it is very acces- 

 sible, local markets exist for its products, and it can be managed as a 

 part of farm procedure. Intensive forest care is doubly necessary 

 here because of serious erosion on cleared lands, some of which have 

 become sparsely restocked. 



The bottom-land hardwood type presents a difficult management 

 problem. The many inferior species contained in the mixture are 

 usually left in logging operations, with the result that they supplant 

 the more valuable species in the next stand; these weed species and 

 brush often choke back the desirable species. Weedings will there- 

 fore be necessary to encourage the desirable species and permit them 

 to form a full stand. Vines, which climb through the tops of very 

 young trees and cause them to break or to become deformed, should 

 be controlled. Desirable conifers such as cypress and cedar may be 

 encouraged through heavy thinnings. Where fires occur in the bot- 

 tom land it will be necessary to remove the damaged stems, which are 

 likely to be rendered unmerchantable by rot, in order to free the 

 ground for new growth. 



Other measures called for, in addition to fire prevention, are (1) 

 avoiding concentrated grazing; (2) removing culls, unmerchantable 

 species, etc., as part of the main cut; and (3) on areas where it is yet 

 possible, making a selective cut every 10 to 20 years to harvest the 

 merchantable trees, mainly those 24 inches or more in diameter, and 

 pole-size trees that for silvicultural reasons should be removed. In 

 the harvesting operation it is desirable to effect a balanced utilization 



