196 THE HUMAN SIDE OF TREES 



Forestry, or sylviculture, as it is sometimes called, 

 is simply an intelligent and far-sighted manage- 

 ment of woodlands. It may be done for a com- 

 mercial motive with the idea of producing the high- 

 est grade lumber at the least cost. It may be done 

 as a protective measure and involve the cultivation 

 of a body of trees as a windbreak or the regulators 

 of important streams. It may be done for esthetic 

 reasons to minister to man's striving for the spirit- 

 ual and to satisfy his innate desire for communion 

 with the trees. In all cases care and sympathetic 

 treatment are the watchwords. 



The simplest sort of forestry comprises some 

 form of selective system. Only the mature and 

 marketable trees are cut down. The others are 

 carefully protected from injury and allowed to 

 grow to their full size. 



When the trees are all of approximately the same 

 age, clear cutting is usually advisable. Under this 

 method, complete sections of the forest are removed 

 at one time. On an exposed slope the thinning 

 effect of selective cutting makes the remaining 

 trees liable to uprooting by the wind. By making 

 clean cuts this danger is avoided. The cut-over 

 area should at once be started with young trees. 

 In some cases, neighbouring trees in the forest can 

 be counted on to propagate their kind on the clear- 



