12 THE PRINCIPLES OF HANDLING WOODLANDS 



possible to produce a stand worth 3 cents per cubic 

 foot. One purpose of silviculture is, therefore, to pro- 

 duce trees of high technical value. 



Rapid Growth. It is a proved fact that the growth 

 in a natural forest is very much lower than in a cultivated 

 forest. In the fierce struggle for existence trees are, in 

 the majority of cases, retarded in growth, and those which 

 live and come to maturity have usually grown relatively 

 slowly. In the Adirondacks, for example, it requires on 

 an average 180 years for a spruce to reach a diameter of 

 12 inches. Under favorable conditions, it is possible for 

 spruce to reach 12 inches in from 80 to 100 years. One 

 object of silviculture is to give each tree which is likely 

 to come to maturity the requisite amount of light and 

 growing space, in order that it may grow at its maximum 

 rate. Trees standing in the open grow more rapidly than 

 those in the forest, but this rapid growth is obtained at a 

 sacrifice of form and quality of wood. A certain amount 

 of crowding is necessary, in order to secure natural 

 pruning and good form of trunk. The forester has, 

 therefore, to sacrifice increment in a certain measure to 

 form and quality, but by judicious silviculture he can 

 secure the maximum rate of growth that is compatible 

 with the production of valuable material. 



Measure of Production 



There is for every type of forest a maximum of pro- 

 duction. By the expenditure of enough labor, it is pos- 

 sible in time to bring a forest to this high condition of 



