THE DENSITY OF FOREST CROPS. 199 



therefore be asked, "What is the proper density of a forest 

 crop? " or to put it differently, "What is the most suitable 

 growing space to be given to each tree? " 



The theory of the case is simple enough, and it runs as 

 follows : — " The densitif of a forest crop should he such, that the 

 objects wldcJi the proprietor has in view are most fully realised.'' 

 Hence if the object is to produce landscape beauty, it is in 

 some cases desirable to give to each individual tree sufficient 

 space to grow and spread in a natural way, while in others a 

 group of massed trees may be desirable ; no special rule can 

 be laid down in this case. 



W^hen trees are grown for economic purposes, matters are 

 different. Here, a balance must be struck between the preser- 

 vation of the fertility of the soil and the production of high- 

 class timber. For the former purpose it is best to keep the 

 crop as dense as possible from start to finish ; but such a 

 procedure may seriously interfere with the second object, and 

 it may involve heavy additional expenditure at starting. 



In the case of natural regeneration, successfully carried 

 ihrough, as many as 50,000 or 100,000 seedlings may be 

 found on an acre, and these are, after a comparatively short 

 space of time, reduced to a limited number, the strongest 

 taking the lead and suppressing the others. In this case, 

 ordinarily no extra expenditure is incurred, and the bountiful 

 regeneration provided by Nature causes the surviving plants 

 to be pushed up by their less-favoured companions which are 

 destined to die an early death. Similar effects may be 

 produced by sowing large quantities of seed to the acre, but 

 this causes additional expenditure. The latter is further 

 increased, if dense planting is attempted ; and it is a question 

 for serious consideration, up to what extent dense planting 

 is financially justified. 



The question can be answered only through statistical data 

 based upon numerous measurements and countings. Such 

 data are not available in this country ; hence we must have 

 recourse to those collected in Germany and France, especially 



