194 THE PRINCIPLES OF HANDLING WOODLANDS 



increase the cost beyond what is warrantable. The work 

 does not require much skill, and can be conducted by an 

 intelligent foreman after some instruction. The part 

 requiring the greatest exercise of judgment is the deci- 

 sion as to how much should be cut in a given case. 



In making cleanings one ordinarily uses a bill-hook 

 or a heavy hunting knife. One of the most satisfactory 

 tools is a plain straight Rogers steel hunting knife of 

 the largest size, with a 10-inch blade and weighing 

 about 2 pounds. 



The cleaning is a cultural operation, and usually yields 

 no immediate money return. The cost necessarily varies 

 under different conditions. It is commonly between 25 

 cents and $2 per acre, and averages about 50 cents. An 

 outlay in cleanings may be distinctly profitable in the 

 long run. An expenditure of 50 cents per acre may pre- 

 vent the injury of 30 or 40 per cent, of the valuable trees 

 in the stand. 



Liberation Cuttings 



It frequently happens that in immature stands there 

 are scattered trees much older than the main crop which, 

 by their wide-spreading crowns, overtop and retard the 

 development of the younger trees. The removal of 

 these trees may be called a liberation cutting. This 

 operation should not be confused with a cleaning in 

 which the trees removed comprise advance growth only 

 a few years older than the average. In the liberation 

 cuttings there is a wide difference between the age of the 

 trees to be cut and of those in the main stand. 



