n8 



THE CORNELL READING-COURSES 



the benefit of the thinning may be lost because a second crop of sprouts 

 may spring up and almost overtake those of the first crop. If the thin- 

 ning is not done until the sprouts are five years old or more, there is still a 

 possibility that a second crop may start ; but the first crop will have such 

 a lead that they should quickly crowd out the younger ones. 



Pruning. The necessity of pruning should be avoided so far as possi- 

 ble, by keeping the trees rather crowded when young. Where the trees 

 have not cleaned themselves, the question arises whether it would pay to 

 prune them by hand. It will not usually pay to prune when it has to be 



FIG. 215. A clump of sprouts, before thinning 

 (Courtesy of Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station) 



done with the axe, saw, or pruning shears, although there may be here 

 and there a tree that would be so greatly improved by a few minutes' 

 work that it would be worth while. Sometimes, as with white pine, the 

 dead lower branches will hang on for a long time, causing very knotty 

 lumber. These branches can often be knocked off with a stiff pole far 

 enough up to clean one good saw log. When the branches break easily, such 

 pruning can be done cheaply and should often prove a paying investment. 



STARTING NEW TREES IN THE WOODLOT 



There are several ways of starting new trees in the openings made by 

 harvesting the timber, and to cover the bare spots now in the woods. 



