they should be loath to cut any of them down, but it 

 is a case of kindness spoiling the child. Spare the 

 rod and spoil the child is as true of groves as it is 

 of sons and daughters. It may be hard to cut these 

 trees which you have planted and cared for, but 

 the failure to do so means the inevitable stunting of 

 the trees and the early depreciation of the grove. 



As a rule these first plantings were made up of 

 rapid-growing, short-lived species as they should have 

 been, but it is not fair to expect them to make perma- 

 nent groves. As these trees mature, even though they 

 are not crowded, they should be cut out and more 

 permanent trees, such as ash, elm and spruce, planted 

 in the openings thus made. Some time can often be 

 saved by planting under the old trees a few years 

 before they are to be cut. 



There are many different methods of handling a 

 wood lot, but no matter what one is used old, defective 

 or badly crowded trees must be cut, and replacements 

 made if the tract is to serve its purpose successfully. 



Idle Forest Land 



The depletion of timber in the United States has 

 not resulted primarily from the use of our forests 

 but from their devastation. The kernel of the prob- 

 lem lies in the enormous areas of forest land which 

 are not producing the timber crops that they should. 

 There are 326 million acres of cut-over timberlands in 

 the United States. Their condition ranges from com- 

 plete devastation, through various stages of partial 

 restocking or restocking with trees of inferior quality, 



20 



