SYLVICULTURE. 



Expense at Biltmore for pruning Yellow Pine to a height of 

 16 feet is two cents per tree. 



The best months for pruning are the months at which the 

 sap is down. 



The advisability of pruning depends largely on the prospective 

 price difference between clear lumber and knotty lumber. 



Pruning at a late date, say 20 years before cutting, is of 

 no use. Theoretically it is best to remove dead branches in the 

 year of their death. 



Where pruning is practiced, natural pruning produced by dense 

 planting and hence dense planting itself might be spared, a proposi- 

 tion which cannot be generally indorsed. 



Literature: Translation of DeCourval by Massachusetts For- 

 estry Association. 

 Paragraph LXIV. Underplanting in high forest. 



An upper story of high forest might be underplanted during the 

 pole stage either artificially or by natural seed regeneration. In 

 the latter case, weed species may answer the purpose. Underplant- 

 ing may improve the timber quality of the upper growth. It usually 

 does improve the productiveness of the "soil. 



Frequently the purpose at stake in underplanting is that of 

 fully utilizing the productive capacity of the soil and of the atmos- 

 phere which is not entirely used by the upper story of growth. 

 In that case, underplanting cannot be considered as a method of 

 forest pedagogy. 



A. The species to be underplanted are, notably, light demanders ; 

 for instance, Yellow Pines; Oaks; Hickories; Larches; Yellow 

 Poplar, etc. In the primeval woods, Long-leaf Pine, Yellow Pine, 

 Yellow Poplar, etc., show a natural undergrowth. 



In practice, the wood to be underplanted is 40 to 60 years old. 

 Heavy "thinnings from below" precede underplanting. 



B. The species used for artificial underplanting are shade 

 bearers and, if possible, soil improvers, notably Beech, Hard Maple, 

 Fir, Lawson's Cypress, White Pine, Chestnut, Hemlock, etc. 



Spruce is now disliked for underplanting, since it unfavorably 

 affects the growth of the upper story. Seedlings one or two years 

 old are commonly used for underplanting. Dogwood, Black Gum, 

 Witch Hazel, Chinquapin, Witch Hopple, possibly Kalmia and 

 Rhododendron might be used for underplanting where mere soil 

 protection is desired. 



The primeval hardwoods of the Alleghanies are frequently and 

 densely underplanted with a low jungle formed by Ericaceae. 

 135 



