FORESTRY IN SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND 



11 



The character of the forest growth on these lands is 

 decidedly different from the hardwood forests. Light 

 seeded trees such as gray birch, soft maple, aspen and the 

 common red cedar are the typical trees on the old fields. 

 It may take a century or more for an old field to become 

 completely stocked with trees. 



Hemlock, as a type, forms about two per cent of the 

 area, usually being found in ravines, and on steep, broken, 

 rocky slopes. 



As a whole the forests of Southern New England are 

 of second growth, Two or more centuries of settlement 

 has resulted in the destruction of all the virgin timber. 

 The original forest is now replaced by second, third or 

 fourth generation stands, composed largely of trees 

 originating from sprouts 

 rather than from the seed. 



On the upland and 

 swamp hardwood types, 

 clean cutting has been the 

 usual method of harvest- 

 ing the crop. Such cut- 

 tings have resulted in con- 

 tinued production of hard- 

 wood trees. In some cases 

 inferior species have been 

 unsaleable and such ma- 

 terial has been left to in- 

 terfere with the succeeding 

 second crop of more valu- 

 able trees. 



The pine and hemlock 

 lands, when cut over, tend 

 to become stocked with 

 hardwoods. 



Forest fires have been 

 far more destructive in 

 rendering areas barren 

 than have been the cutting 

 methods. A majority of 

 the fires throughout South- 

 ern New England arise 

 from railroad locomotives. 

 Hence the burned lands lie 

 mainly in proximity to rail- 

 road lines. There is no 

 large waste land type cre- 

 ated by clear cutting and fires such as exists in Penn- 

 sylvania and the Lake States. 



The holdings of forest land are too small for the indi- 

 vidual owner to be able to furnish fire protection at his 

 own expense. He must look to the state authorities to 

 protect his property. As yet legislators in this region 

 have failed to see the importance of the fire problem and 

 still furnish small and totally inadequate appropriations 

 for handling the fire situation. 



The Best Forestry Practice for Each Type. 



In the following paragraphs an attempt is made to out- 

 line various methods of treatment which have been tried 



A FINE YOUNG RED PINE 



This red pine is in a forest plantation fifteen years old and eighteen 

 feet high. This sturdy tree is not so susceptible to disease and 

 insects as in the white pine. 



on each of the different types and can be recommended 

 as practicable. 



Upland Hardwood. During the last decade, removal 

 of blight killed chestnut has been the chief problem. 

 Where chestnut was thick and oftentimes pure over 

 small acreas its removal leaves large openings in the 

 forest cover. At the present time good stands of merch- 

 antable chestnut, even in a dead or dying condition, are 

 scarce. Chestnut was the most valuable tree for manage- 

 ment and following its commercial disappearance comes 

 the question of what should be done with the hardwood 

 type. Two methods have been advocated and are both 

 in use. Under the first, many owners attempt to plant 

 the lands cut over for chestnut with the idea of converting 



the hardwood type to 

 stands of pine. Usually a 

 dense growth of shrubs 

 arises on cut over hard- 

 wood lands and the blight- 

 ed chestnut sprouts come 

 up quickly and live long 

 enough to offer consider- 

 able hindrance to planted 

 pines. These shrubs and 

 sprouts must be cut back 

 two or three times during 

 the first decade after plant- 

 ing in order that the plant- 

 ed pines may live and make 

 rapid growth. 



Personal experience has 

 convinced the writer that 

 where planting of pine is 

 attempted on cut over 

 hardwood lands, the trees 

 should be set widely apart 

 ( I2xi2 feet) and standing 

 in the openings between 

 clumps of sprouts. In this 

 way three to four hundred 

 trees per acre can be used, 

 greatly reducing the origi- 

 nal cost of the plantation 

 as well as the cost of cut- 

 ting back shrubs and 

 sprouts which threaten to 

 overtop the pines. The second method of treating the 

 hardwood type after the removal of the chestnut, is to 

 work for the production of hardwoods. Inspection of 

 cut over areas which are unburned, will usually indicate 

 that there is a sufficient stand of valuable seedlings and 

 sprouts on the ground after the removal of the chestnut, 

 to form an adequate stocking. 



It is true that the yield of hardwood stands is much 

 lower in merchantable timber than that of pine planta- 

 tions, but on the other hand, the cost of securing the 

 pine plantations is far greater. It is difficult to give 

 accurate financial statements representative of the results 

 secured by the two methods and which of the two is best 



