46 ECONOMICS OF FORESTRY. 



weeds in tree growth whenever he culls the better 

 kinds. Under these conditions, when the timber 

 is harvested and the land burned over, the condi- 

 tions are so changed and so variable as to preclude 

 every estimate of future supplies that might be 

 reproduced. 



The rational way in treating the resource of 

 virgin woods, from national economic if not from 

 private pocket interest, would be as far as possible 

 to prepare first for a desirable reproduction by cut- 

 ting out the poor kinds and the useless brush, then 

 logging out first only the largest trees of the bet- 

 ter kinds with proper precaution against injury to 

 younger growth, and against fires, then gradually, 

 as younger trees grow on, the older ones may be 

 harvested and as much as possible in such a man- 

 ner that the young aftergrowth is given room and 

 light. 



Thus, by mere care in utilizing the resource, not 

 only can all the product be harvested but a new 

 crop, increased in quantity, can be secured. From 

 such simple care we come to the finest methods of 

 forestry, for these are only different in the degree 

 of care, hardly in the kind. 



By these methods man makes the forest resource 

 produce easily ^the treble and quadruple of what it 

 does when left alone; so that merely by*t4^ judi- 

 cious use the capacity of useful production grows. 



How much intensive management can increase 

 the yield of the resource may be judged from the 



