THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF WORKING PLANS 139 



ment. This reduction of excess growing stock must never be 

 brought about at the expense of glutting the timber market 

 and forcing down prices. In America the silvicultural needs 

 must, for the present at least, be subordinate to the economic 

 demands. " In spite of the loss from deterioration, the country 

 as a whole may be benefited more by reserving a considerable 

 portion of these stands against the time of critical need than by 

 cutting them off too rapidly, under present market conditions, 

 in order to put the growing power of the soil to work." * 



II. Regulation of Transition Forests 



Forests in transition from high forest to coppice or, which 

 is more frequently the case, from coppice to high forest, or from 

 crude selection to even-aged forests, require special regulation. 



The transition from coppice to high forest involves the 

 replacing of sprouts by seedlings. The process of conversion 

 is, briefly, as follows: Instead of cutting the coppice at the 

 thirtieth year or thereabouts, as is usually done, it is allowed to 

 grow until the sixtieth year or thereabouts. If the coppice 

 does not already contain sufficient seedling trees in mixture, 

 these must be supplied artificially. During the last decades, 

 it is necessary to free the crowns of the seed-bearing standards 

 from the encroaching coppice. This is done by means of pre- 

 paratory cuts at intervals of about ten years. 



When the coppice is about sixty years old, the reproduction 

 cutting begins. This aims to open up the stand by cutting 

 most of the coppice, allowing the seed from the standards to 

 regenerate the area. The reproduction cutting is repeated four 

 or five times at intervals of about five years, and gradually 

 changes from cuts to seed up the area (or plant, if artificially) 

 to cuts giving light to seedlings obtained, and at last to final 



* W. B. Greeley in " National Forest Sales on the Pacific Coast," " Proceed- 

 ings of the Society of American Foresters," Vol. VII, No. i, p. 46. B. P. Kirk- 

 land takes a different view in " The Need of Working Plans on National Forests 

 and the Policies which should be Embodied in them," Proc. Soc. Am. Foresters, 

 Vol. X, No. 4, pp. 341-375. 



