CHAPTER III. 

 SILVICULTURAL METHODS OF REPRODUCTION. 



LN order to harvest different kinds of forests and to insure an 

 equally good growth after cutting, various systems of cutting 

 have been developed. Often they differ very little from ordi- 

 nary methods of lumbering, but in other cases may demand a 

 considerable money investment and a high degree of forestry 

 knowledge. The forester, or the layman who handles his own 

 forests, should have these systems definitely in mind, as only in 

 this way can he secure satisfactory results in the reproduction of 

 the desired species. Thus far these systems have been little 

 used in America, but as our market conditions approach those 

 of Europe they will be adapted to our conditions. And even 

 under our present rough conditions it is as well to have some 

 ideal to work for, some definite method to follow, as in other 



.agricultural lines. 



. .-<,'/ 



I. Methods Depending on Reproduction by See6\. 



\ 



A. THE SELECTION METHOD. 



This method, as its name implies, is adapted to selection 

 stands. 



Since the virgin forest of all countries is an uneven-aged or 

 irregular high forest, the first and crudest system deals with this 

 and is called " selection," because the trees to be harvested are 

 selected here and there as they become mature. As the old trees 

 are removed seedlings gradually take their place. By this 

 method no area is ever cut clean, and for that reason it appeals 

 to those interested in the woods mainly for aesthetic reasons. It 

 is so well known that with many it stands, unfortunately, for the 

 whole of forestry, with ill-advised legislation in some localities 

 imposing a minimum diameter limit for cuttings. As forestry 



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