54 METHODS OF TREATMENT [CH. 



Block II will be brought under conversion and regenerated in 

 the same way in the second period. These selection fellings will 

 consist in removing mature stems which can be left standing no 

 longer, but in addition to this they will go further, and will be 

 improvement fellings in which worthless material of any size 

 will be removed in order to assist in the development of the 

 more valuable trees. 



The position of every part of the forest in the general scheme 

 of working being known, we shall know the girth limits of the 

 trees to be specially favoured on each part of the ground in order 

 to prepare the crop to take its place in the approaching con version. 

 These selection fellings therefore in the blocks not yet brought 

 under conversion will aim at inducing to some extent a state of 

 uniformity in the crops, and of regularising them to the type 

 required to fit in with the conversion scheme. 



47. Improvement method. 



The Improvement method is a provisional treatment applied 

 to forests which are in a very bad state, containing a large pro- 

 portion of unsound and worthless timber, and therefore unfit, 

 until to some extent restored, for working under any regular 

 method. The object is therefore to improve the growing stock 

 during a period of years, during which time the forest will be 

 treated on purely cultural considerations, and no revenue be 

 sought from it. During this provisional period, then, all trees, the 

 extraction of which is culturally desirable, will be removed, but 

 no others; and as a general rule no tree will be removed unless 

 there is a better one to take its place. As a method of manage- 

 ment, the arrangement will be exactly as under the Selection 

 method. A suitable felling-cycle will be fixed, and the forest 

 divided up into as many sections, over one of which an improve- 

 ment felling will be carried out each year. In order that in the 

 future there may be no intermission in the yield it is of course 

 necessary to see that natural regeneration always continues to 

 take place freely over the whole area year by year. There is 

 no possibility fixed, and the fellings are carried out by area on 

 purely silvicultural principles. 



From the point of view of the working-plan, this method is of 



