IMPROVEMENT CUTTINGS 149 
judgment is here a requisite. One should keep his 
forest as uniform as possible. Every tree, from the 
beginning, should have its proper proportion of room. 
The actual number of trees which should be removed 
surprises one. The following table, by Professor 
Schuberg, shows how much is ordinarily removed by 
thinnings in the course of years. This applies to 
spruce, silver fir, Scotch pine, and beech: 
AGE. Number per acre. |Space per tree in sq. ft. 
a ieyetem crayesieusVevers o oreays.e's 3,960 11 
‘D5 8 Saab Aone eee eee 1,013 43 
GOR eee aniae wre ea ava: 449 Oi 
BI ry a Ms, | 346 126 
OOM Bis neste eee 262 166 
The material yielded by thinnings in many coun- 
tries more than pays for the cost of the thinning. 
Of course, in rough woods, such as exist in this 
country, in many places where even lumbering is not 
profitable, it is not possible to practise the finesse 
of forestry. In wood-lots on farms, however, the 
farmer may often increase the value of his forest by 
a little improvement cutting now and then. Often 
two trees may be too close to one another. If left, 
neither would develop into a good tree. If one is cut, 
the other will have opportunity to form a symmetri- 
eal crown. Often clumps of trees are so crowded that 
long, spindling stems have developed. A little thin- 
