FOREST PROBLEMS OF GEORGIA'S HARDWOOD REGION 



675 



THESE FORESTS WILL NOT ONLY GROW TIMBER, BUT THEY ARE ALLURING PLAYGROUNDS FOR THE EVER-INCREASING 

 POPULATION OF THE EASTERN SEABOARD. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE POURED INTO THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED NATIONAL 

 FOREST REGION DURING VACATION TIME OF THE SUMMER JUST PAST. 



safeguarding of cut-over areas against fire and grazing, 

 coupled with the leaving, in logging operations, of a 

 few seed trees and the elimination of at least a part of 

 the defective trees and inferior species which are some- 

 times left in considerable numbers on lands from which 

 the cream of the timber has been removed. 



These measures, if effectively carried out, will un- 

 doubtedly yield good results on the lands which still 

 remain to be logged, but the restoration of the badly 

 depleted hardwood stands is another matter. Only time 

 and careful treatment in the preservation of all avail- 

 able seed supi)lies of the better species, and the pro- 

 vision of favorable light conditions for the best ele- 

 ments of the re])roduction, will avail to replace the 

 crippled and burned second-growth with an active, 

 healthy, growing stand. The proportion of weed-trees 

 and low-grade products must be diminished, in such 

 ways as become available, for the benefit of the value- 

 producing species. Gradually, the forest will reassert 

 itself, if protected, and under proper guidance a new 

 forest of superior quality will ultimately develop. 



Assurance of healthy second-growth of commercial 

 value is the foundation of the second step in forestry 



m the mountain hardwoods. This step will consist in 

 the organization of the forest as a factory for turning 

 out the greatest quantity of the most useful forest pro- 

 ducts. It will provide for a peq>etual annual or per- 

 iodic yield from unit areas, such as individual water- 

 shieds or groups of watersheds. To carry out such a 

 prbgram successfully, there can be no failures due to 

 ignorance of the behavior of the species under manage- 

 ment. The problems involved in this second stage of 

 hardwood forestry in Georgia are accordingly highly 

 technical. They involve studies of the life histories of 

 the many different species which make up the stand 

 their reproductive capacities, soil requirements, rate of 

 growth, toleration of shade, and behavior in com>petition 

 with trees of the same or other species in the forest. 

 Economic factors are introduced, as in determining the * 

 period' of rotation needed to produce specified products, 

 and the times at which thinnings can profitably be made 

 for the benefit of the forest. Such studies are in- 

 dispensable to the placing of the proper trees on the 

 proper soils, so that each acre can produce its maxi- 

 mum. 



