have everywhere been cut, except in parts of the southern Appalach- 

 ians, hut the reproduction of the coppice is so rapid that a fair supply 

 of small-sized timber is still available. 



PROPAGATION. 



Chestnut reproduces easily both by seeds and stump sprouts. Nuts 

 are borne nearly every year and a full crop occurs usually every other 

 year, thus keeping the ground well seeded. The nuts that are spared 

 by the squirrels germinate readily and, if there are enough of them, 

 quickly reclothe the ground with seedlings. They grow, however, only 

 in pasture land and open woods, since they can not tolerate dense 

 shade. Their growth may be encouraged by leaving seed trees, pro- 

 tecting the nuts from chipmunks and squirrels, and breaking the ground 

 where the nuts fall. 



By far the more common and rapid means of Chestnut reproduction 

 is by the coppice sprouts which spring from the newly cut stumps. 

 While not so long lived nor so sound as seedling trees, the coppice 

 sprouts should be encouraged because of their rapid growth and ease of 

 propagation. A clear cutting of a Chestnut forest in the fall or winter 

 when the trees are dormant, taking care to leave smooth stumps, is all 

 that is needed to insure a future growth. In the Middle and New 

 England States a clear cutting system with a rotation of twenty-five to 

 thirty years gives the best results, and will in that time produce trees 

 large enough for fuel, ties, or posts. A stump will retain the power of 

 sprouting with almost undiminished vigor through several rotations. 

 By starting a small number of seedling trees of the same or other species 

 among the Chestnut coppice and allowing them to live through two or 

 three rotations of the sprouts, large timber trees may be secured. The 

 Chestnut is admirably adapted to several systems of forest management. 



For commercial or ornamental planting either nursery culture or 

 direct field planting may be practiced. In either case the nuts should 

 be gathered when mature in the fall and stratified in moist sand through 

 the winter, care being taken that they do not dry out after ripening, or 

 become moldy in the sand. If placed in single layers between alternate 

 layers of moist sand in a strong box, out of doors in a sheltered place, 

 they may be depended upon to winter safely. 



If started in the nursery the rows should be 3 feet apart, and the nuts 

 placed 1 foot apart in the row and covered 1 to 2 inches deep. In one 

 season the plants should attain a height of 10 to 15 inches, and may be 

 set in the plantation in the spring when either 1 or 2 years old. If 

 transplanted several times in the nursery the plants are improved, but 

 this is usually too expensive to be practiced in economic planting. 



For extensive operations direct placing of the nuts in their perma- 

 nent location is cheapest and best. Fall planting is advised if the 

 planted nuts can be protected from mice and squirrels. Holes should 

 be dug and 2 or 3 nuts placed in each and covered about 2 inches deep, 



