THE SHELTERWOOD SYSTEM 159 



grass and weeds which will interfere with germination 

 and the establishment of the reproduction, the soil is 

 sometimes broken up to expose the mineral soil. One 

 method is to break the ground cover with mattocks at 

 intervals of 5 or 6 feet, exposing about a square foot 

 of soil in each place. Another method, used when the 

 soil and topography permit, is to plow furrows among 

 the trees; and yet another in common use is to turn hogs 

 into the woods before the seed-year, to work up the soil. 



In some instances a certain amount of planting is 

 done after the seed-cutting. This would be done when 

 natural seeding is uncertain, and the species requires shel- 

 ter during youth. If no shelter were needed, the stand 

 would be cut and the trees planted on the clearing. The 

 planting in advance of cutting usually has for its object 

 the maintenance of a certain species in mixture. It is 

 a common measure in mixed beech and spruce forests, 

 where the natural reproduction of beech is better than 

 that of spruce. The young spruce-trees are planted near 

 stumps and rocks, where there will be the least possible 

 damage by the later logging. 



When a seed-cutting fails to yield good reproduction, 

 and the ground is beginning to be covered with weeds 

 and brush likely to retard reproduction from later seed- 

 years, planting is commonly used to complete the new 

 stand. If the young growth requires shelter, the planting 

 is done as soon as the fail-spots are located; otherwise 

 the stand is cleared rapidly, and the planting done after 

 the final cutting. 



