18 Agricultural Experiment Station [Bulletin 337 



better species and better trees have been removed in the past, cutting" 

 should be confined to inferior trees which are interfering with the 

 development of more desirable trees and to trees which have reached 

 maturity. The cut should be well distributed through all size classes 

 down to the minimum that can be used for fuel. 



The first cut, which should be very light, will bring about only 

 a slight change. Improvement will be gradual until much of the pres- 

 ent inferior growth has been replaced by trees of desirable species and 

 quality. Although most farmers w^ith such stands will have little to 

 sell except fuelwood in the near future, they can supply their own 

 needs for fuelwood and build up a stand of future value as well. Little 

 if any, time in addition to that already spent in getting the year's fuel, 

 will be required. It will mean using the same amount of time in a 

 different manner. 



If yellow birch is an important component of the stand, a slight 

 variation in the type of cutting may be necessary. Yellow birch will 

 not withstand any appreciable opening up of the crown canopy. A 

 group selection system, confining the size of the area cut at one time 

 to one-fifth to one-fourth acre plots is best suited to this species. The 

 resulting stand will be even-aged as compared with all-aged stands 

 resulting from single tree selection. 



The young stands of sapling size should be given some attention 

 to insure a desirable composition and to secure maximum growth. 

 Cleaning is particularly- important where the proportion of sj^routs is 

 large. Trees selected to be favored should be either seedlings or 

 seedling sprouts when possible. In the absence of a sufficient number 

 of seedlings, individual sprouts of the most decay-resistant species 

 arising from stumps under four inches in diameter should be favored. 



Aspen and paper birch types occur on some of the cut-over areas. 

 P'or the most part, they are of little commercial importance and are 

 used principally for fuel. The aim of management should be the con- 

 version of such stands to a northern hardwood type. The character 

 and quantity of advance reproduction will determine the treatment 

 necessary to accomplish conversion. If reproduction is ade({uate. 

 removal of the over-story of birch or aspen in one operation will 

 usually create favorable conditions for the development of the new 

 stand. Heavy partial cutting may be advisable in very dense stands 

 where advance growth has been weakened by competition for exist- 

 ence. A second cut may be necessary at a later date, although, if the 

 l)ulk of the undesirables are Ijirch, mortality after cutting may make 

 additional treatment unnecessary. 



If advance reproduction is lacking, there is little that can be done 

 except to wait or plant. Probably the best procedure is to wait until 

 reproduction does become adequate and then begin conversion. 



RELATING PEOPLE TO RESOURCES 



A number of local people are in need of additional emplovment 

 during the oft" seasons. There are limited opi)ortunities to use labor 



