Canadian forestry Journal, Max, IQ20. 



nn ]i;!nii is done if trees of market- 

 able size iia\e not Iteen destroyed. 

 They jilace no \aliie on the seedlings 

 and young grcjvvth which will he llie 

 trees of the future. 



]t is, however, not merely hv the 

 destruction of young trees tiiat the 

 hre does damage. Larger trees are 

 also injured. Fires which at hrst si-lit 

 do not seem to have done much da.m- 

 age, will fre(|ucntly scorch the hark 

 at the brsc sufficiently to kill the 

 living tissue beneath it. The bark on 

 these scorched i)atches, sooner or 

 later drops off, and the wood becomes 

 exposed to the organisms of decay. 

 The destruction of the leaves and lit- 

 ter oil the floor of the woodlot is also 

 a serious loss. These serve as a fer- 

 tilizer and act as a sponge in absorb- 

 ing moisture. 



Winds also cause considerable 

 damage to woodlots by drying out 

 the soil and over-turning trees. The 

 borders of the woodlot should be 

 completely banked up with branches 

 and foliage to protect the interior. 

 Trees growing along the edge should 

 be allowed to retain their branches 

 right to the ground and open borders 

 and gaps shovild be closed by plant- 

 ing, if this is necessary. 



Tree diseases are visually cavised by 

 parasitic fungi. The most common of 

 these are those which cause decay. 

 Hollow trunks, discolored wood, or 

 those shelf or hoof-shaped projections 

 frecpiently found attached to the side 

 of trees and logs are indications of 

 the ]iresence of decay-producing fun- 

 gi. These projections or 'punks' as 

 they are sometimes called, are the 

 fruits of the organism growing with- 

 in the wood and causing its destruc- 

 tion. These bodies produce minute 

 seeds or spores as they are termed, 

 which are carried to other trees and 

 infect them. For this reason decay- 

 ing trees are a source of danger to 

 others. The removal of the punks 

 will reduce the immediate danger of 

 the spores spreading, but will not 

 stop the decay in the afifected trees. 

 Many of these decay-producing fun- 



gi are not capable of attacking a tree 

 cxcei)t through a wounrl. or where 

 )roken, and, th( 



lere- 



the bark has Deen 



fore, the needless blazing or cutting 



nito the trunks of living trees should 



be a\oided. 



Stimulating the Stand. 



In many woodlots which have been 

 protected from cattle and fire, a dense 

 even-aged growth of young trees has 

 sprung up in the more open places. 

 This is a desirable condition. In their 

 youth the trees shonld be close 

 enough together to force a rapid 

 height growth and produce clear 

 trunks. When al)Out five years old 

 they should number from 2,000 to 

 3,000 per acre. 'j'his numl)er will 

 gradually diminish, until at from ten 

 to fifteen years of age they will num- 

 ber from 1,000 to 1,500 trees, and at 

 maturity not more than 150 of the 

 original trees will remain. Left to 

 itself this thinning would come about 

 in a natural way. The more vigor- 

 ous trees will get ahead of their 

 weaker neighbors, and sooner or later 

 overtop them, causing them to die. 

 Trees, even of the same species, differ 

 in their rate of growth. 



Nature, however, is slow and a 

 little assistance by way of artificial 

 thinning will stimulate the growth 

 and concentrate it into a smaller 

 number of the most desirable trees. 

 Proper artificial thinning will shorten 

 the time required for the trees to 

 reach marketable size by ten to fif- 

 teen years. 



In a woodlot containing many 

 species the relative value of each 

 species must be considered. The own- 

 er must decide for himself what 

 species he is going to favor after he 

 has given careful consideration to the 

 adaptability of each species to local 

 conditions. Generally speaking sugar 

 maple, elm, white ash, hickory, white 

 oak, beech, chestnut, red oak and yel- 

 low birch are the preferred hard- 

 woods; while white pine, red pine, 

 white spruce, red spruce, tamarack 

 and cedar are the most desirable coni- 

 fers. 



