52 FORESTRY 



of the stand intact. Cuttings would be made at frequent 

 intervals on the same ground, but there would always 

 be a forest cover. Such a plan is suitable for very crude 

 operations in forests composed of many species, of which 

 only a few are merchantable. The selection of valuable 

 hardwoods such as cherry or walnut, or of large white 

 oaks for stave material, bears a resemblance to this sys- 

 tem of cutting. But such a method in a mixed forest 

 soon exterminates the best kinds of timber, leaving only 

 the poorer varieties. It is not possible to do anything 

 else when markets are so poor that only the best quality 

 and kinds of wood can be sold at all. Hence it has been 

 the prevailing system of logging over most of the hard- 

 wood forests in inaccessible or pioneer localities. As mar- 

 kets improved, a greater number of species became mer- 

 chantable, and much smaller sized trees could be cut. 

 Logging operations then began to take on the form of 

 a clear cutting but without any regard for future crops 

 or the protection of young trees. 



A systematic application of the selection system by 

 foresters differs very widely from the hit or miss selec- 

 tion by woodsmen. The forester chooses this method 

 only when the species is one that succeeds best when the 

 young trees spring up under almost complete shade and 

 protection of the old timber. The European silver fir 

 is sometimes managed in this way. At intervals of a very 

 few years the whole forest is cut over, a small portion 

 being cut each year, but the only trees taken are the old- 

 est and largest. Before the next cut, a few more trees 

 have reached the proper size. There is in such a forest, 

 only one or two species, and every age and size is repre- 

 sented on each acre, so that the form of the forest stand 

 is the extreme opposite of an even-aged stand, where the 

 crowns of the trees form a canopy of about the same 

 height. When the forester attempts to apply the selec- 

 tion system to forests which are irregular in the distri- 



