10 IMPROVEMENT THINNINGS IN 



were not cut, because they were so small that they could not inter- 

 fere with the larger trees, and they help to keep the ground shaded 

 until the broken cover is re-established. Diagram No. 2 represents 

 the stand as it appeared after the thinning. 



Diagram No. 3 represents a group of six sprouts, originating 

 from a single stump. They range from 4 to 8 inches in diameter, 

 and from 45 to 55 feet in height. It is difficult to show on a flat 

 piece of paper and by a diagrammatic drawing the sprouts as they 

 were actually placed around the central stump; but in the space 

 allotted by nature to the group they were overcrowded. The prob- 

 lem was then to reduce their number in such a way that the crowns 

 of those that remain will utilize the limited space to the best ad- 

 vantage. The drawing marked " After " shows how this was done. 

 The diagram does not indicate very well why the left-hand sprout 

 should have been taken away, but its removal was determined by 

 its relation to neighboring trees not shown in the picture. 



RESULTS OF THINNING. 



We said in the section on the " Theory of Thinning " that the 

 more light and air a tree receives, the more rapidly it grows in 

 diameter; so that a thinning, by opening up the stand and allow- 

 ing the crowns of the remaining trees to enlarge, stimulates the 

 volume growth of the stand. There are fewer trees in the stand, 

 but larger and better ones. This may not be considered important 

 until we realize how much more valuable a tree of large diameter 

 is than a small one. For example, the average white pine, 10 

 inches in diameter breast high, and 60 feet in height, contains 

 95 feet of round-edge lumber; whereas a pine of the same height, 

 15 inches in diameter, contains 195 board feet of lumber. That is, 

 with a 50 per cent, gain in diameter there is an increase of 100 per 

 cent, in the product. This is not the whole story, because with the 

 increase in the size of the tree the boards are wider and have less 

 knots, yielding a higher price; so that the gain in money value 

 is even greater than the increase in volume. An average chestnut 

 tree 10 inches in diameter will produce 2 ties and .03 cords of fire 

 wood. Supposing a railroad tie to be worth 50 cents, the tree may 

 be said to be worth about $1. A 15-inch chestnut will yield 5 ties 

 and .06 cords of wood, worth about $2.50, or an increase in money 

 value of 150 per cent. In the case of sprout oaks and other sprout 

 hard woods, thinnings made at the right time may result in con- 

 verting what would otherwise be nothing but a cord-wood lot into 

 one of saw-timber size. 



