THE PRUNING OF WHITE PINE 205 



Now begins the second and final stage of growth. The trees have been 

 chosen far enough apart so that they will not interfere with each other, no 

 more pruning is done, the last small wounds heal quickly, and from that time 

 on all the wood formed in the bole is clear. Through the ever increasing space 

 occupied by the tree and the comparatively short stem, a good diameter growth 

 is maintained to the end of the rotation and a large valuable log is obtained- 



The Eric system of silviculture may be used in combination with several 

 of the older forms, but the most i)romising treatment seems to be the three- 

 story one. It may be applied in plantations, on areas where pine is mixed 

 with coppice, and to especially good advantage on the many abandoned fields 

 that are coming up by natural reproduction with a scattering growth of pine. 

 The intermediate stages must vary with the condition of the tract when work 

 is begun but a fully stocked woods ready for the final cutting of the upper 

 story under a sixty-year rotation will consist of three ages forty trees, sixty 

 years old, ready to cut and occupying about eighty per cent of the space ; forty 

 moderate sized trees; and a greater number of small ones, the selected forty 

 of which are just completing their first period of growth and require an in- 

 significant amount of space. The nurse trees which have been retained increase 

 the crown cover and prevent the stand from becoming too open underneath. 

 The spring after cutting the upper story a dozen or more transplants are set 

 out in each opening, and in twenty years another crop is ready to harvest. 



Artificial pruning is a distinctive feature of the system and may be ap- 

 plied to many species. All foresters agree that most of our hard woods can be 

 trimmed, when branches are small, without injury and to the great improve- 

 ment of the quality of the lumber, and experiments by Professor Mer of Nancy, 

 France, indicate that spruce can be added to the list. 



I hope that investigators who see this article will send to American 

 Forestry or write to me, no matter whether in approval or condemnation, 

 showing the results of their experiments ; and I am particularly anxious that 

 they should try Mr. Morton's method of pruning. Some of my German friends 

 are going to experiment along these lines when the proper season comes 

 around. 



We have not done enough work as yet to be able to give accurate figures 

 of cost and growth or to state closely where the line is drawn between the 

 conditions of the tract and location in which such work would bring good 

 financial returns and those where the growth is so slow that compound interest 

 and risk would make the investment unwise at our present prices. 



It is very important that different silvical systems suited to our varied 

 conditions should be applied on a large scale, and as rapidly as practicable to 

 transform our forest and waste lands in such a way as to give a sustained 

 crop and additional wealth to the community. One of these should be either 

 the plan outlined in this paper, as modified by further experience, or some 

 other, producing the much needed clear lumber in a reasonable time. 



