SILVICAL BASIS FOR SEEDING 

 AND PLANTING 



CHAPTER I 

 DEFINITIONS AND GENERALITIES 



Silviculture is a branch of forestry that deals with the establish- 

 ment, development, and reproduction of forests. It is an art 

 which depends for its intelligent practice upon the principles of 

 silvics. Silvics may be defined as the whole body of observed 

 facts that relate to the life of single trees and of the forest as a 

 whole, so arranged and classified as to serve as a basis for the 

 practice of silviculture. Silvics is a science insofar as it establishes 

 relationships and formulates deductions which are universally 

 true regarding the life of the forest. It aims to interpret forest 

 vegetation as acted upon by "locality," i.e., by the factors of the 

 site such as climate, soil, and animal life. 



1. THE PRIMARY OBJECTS OF SILVICULTURE 



In the practice of silviculture the forester aims to attain the 

 following: 



a. Successful regeneration either by natural means or by 

 seeding or planting. 



b. The improvement of the forest through the various oper- 

 ations which add to the quality and yield of the product. 



2. Chief Aim in Reproduction 



The chief aim in reproduction is the early succession of the new 

 crop after the old has been removed, consistent with reasonable 

 economy, and the securing of a full stand and the production of 

 the species which most fully meet the object of management. 

 The early succession of the new crop can always be attained by 

 expensive methods such as planting large stock and by cultivat- 

 ing and irrigating dry sites, but such methods are seldom justified 

 where reproduction, although somewhat delayed, can be brought 



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