How to Care for Your Small Forest 



221 



thin foliage. They should be cut and 

 made into useful products before they 

 are attacked by insects, disease, or are 

 otherwise damaged. The thrifty, fast- 

 growing trees that are damaged by fire, 

 insects, disease, winds, or lightning 

 should be salvaged while the wood is 

 still usable. 



4. Pruning the trees frequently in- 

 creases their value. 



In considering whether to prune, 

 you should determine whether or not 

 better prices will be received for the 

 product to be harvested. 



Local advice may be helpful and 

 certainly is needed if any question 

 arises as to the best time for pruning 

 and how to go about it. 



Prune only the vigorous and healthy 

 crop trees. 



Select about 200 to 225 such trees 

 on each acre. 



Prune trees the first time when they 

 are from 4 to 6 inches in diameter. 

 Cuts heal rapidly on these young trees 

 and the knots will be small. 



Prune in early spring just before 

 the growing season begins. 



Make clean cuts close to the trunk 

 of the tree. A long stub may rot and 

 later cause the tree to decay or be at- 

 tacked by insects. 



At any one pruning, remove no more 

 than the lower third of the branches 

 that make up the live crown of the tree. 



Removal of too many live limbs will 

 slow down the growth of the tree for 

 several years. 



After the trees have grown larger, 

 another pruning up to 16 feet in 

 height or for two clear logs may be 

 desirable. 



The best tool to use is a pruning saw 

 with a 12- to 18-inch blade, 3/ 2 to 5/ 2 

 points to the inch. A ladder and hand 

 saw can be used for the high branches. 

 Some prefer a pruning saw fastened to 

 a long pole. Do not use an ax. 



Work safely; a falling limb is dan- 

 gerous ; ladders should be firmly placed 

 against the tree. 



HARVEST CUTTINGS are made to get 

 cash from sales of products or to get 



material for home use. The way harvest 

 cuttings are made determines whether 

 the small forest is to provide continuous 

 crops of trees, either annually or at 

 intervals of 5, 10, 15 years or longer. 

 There are four types of harvest cut- 

 tings. 



1. Clear cutting is the removal of 

 everything of any value. 



The small forest should not be cut 

 in the way unless it is being cleared 

 for pasture or crops. Many years will 

 elapse before clear-cut land will pro- 

 vide cash returns or a crop of timber 

 that can provide products for home 

 needs. Sometimes undesirable trees 

 seed in on the cleared land and the 

 next crop of trees is less salable or has 

 no value at all. Often the cleared wood- 

 land must be planted usually a costly 

 matter. Generally, the long-time cash 

 income from woodland that has been 

 clear-cut will be smaller than under 

 any other method. 



Some species of trees that grow in 

 even-aged stands are best harvested by 

 clear cutting. The area can then be 

 replanted with the same type of trees 

 that were cut and a new stand obtained. 



Local advice should be sought be- 

 fore clear cutting a small forest of a 

 particular species. 



2. The seed-tree method is adapt- 

 able to certain even-aged small forests. 

 By this method, at least 10 healthy, 

 vigorous trees that average 10 to 12 

 inches in diameter at breast height 

 should be left on each acre. The only 

 advantage of seed-tree cutting over 

 clear cutting is that the area may not 

 need to be planted. If this method is 

 used, it is usually best to leave the seed 

 trees in groups. Often strips of trees 

 are left standing to provide seed. 

 Cutting in strips, however, is usually 

 practiced in large forest areas. 



3. The diameter-limit method is 

 often used in the harvest cutting. All 

 trees above a certain diameter at breast 

 height, 10 to 12 inches in pine and 16 to 

 18 inches in hardwood, may be cut. 

 This method has the fault that all the 

 poorly formed, weak, diseased, and 

 slow-growing trees under the desired 



