REMOVAL OF "MOTHER" TREES 185 



3rd year after a good crop of seedlings appears on the ground, 

 and will be continued about every 3 years up to the I5th 

 year, or even longer in some cases. However, where the 

 seedlings are intolerant of shade, the mother trees must be 

 removed almost immediately. 



And even if the seedlings will bear shade, the majority 

 at any rate should be removed when the undercrop is well 

 established, and before it is more than 4 or 5 feet high ; then 

 the young trees are supple and pliant, and little damage 

 need be feared. Some of the young trees will be ruined, 

 but with many thousands of young trees per acre this does 

 not matter. 



However, the removal of any old trees when the young 

 crop is from 20 to 35 feet high, must do a great deal of 

 damage, for the latter are too stout to bend over without 

 breaking. Hence, when old trees have still to be cut, it will 

 probably be best to wait until the pole forest stage is 

 advanced, when the poles will be capable of withstanding 

 considerable weight. 



If the mother trees are removed too early, the young 

 crop will not get that shelter from hot sun and late and 

 early frosts which is so essential. If the seedlings are light- 

 demanding and hardy, it is best to remove the shelter wood 

 quickly : the reverse for slow-growing, tender species. On 

 very dry soils, all trees require more light, and are less 

 tolerant of shade than they would be if the supply of moisture 

 were plentiful. And on high altitudes where the growing 

 season is shorter, more light is necessary than at low 

 altitudes. Therefore, other conditions being equal, on very 

 dry soils, or at high elevations, the mother trees should be 

 thinner on the ground, and should be removed when the 

 young crop is smaller than when the trees are growing in 

 good moist soil, or at low altitudes. 



A consideration of the aspect should also affect the 

 density of the mother trees and the dates of their removal. 



Though southern aspects are hot and dry, the intensity 

 of the light is greater than on northern aspects, which are 

 cool and usually moist, and it will usually be found that a 



