EXECUTION OF THINNINGS. 299 



7. Exeaition of Thiuninfis. 



The advantages of thinnings can l)e fully realised only if 

 the operations are conducted in a careful and judicious 

 manner ; in other words they must he attended to by a 

 competent forester and not left to the wood-cutters. 



In young woods, which have as yet a large number of trees 

 per acre, thinnings should generally be carried out in the 

 presence of a competent forester ; only where the wood is 

 absolutely uniform throughout, a sample may be prepared as 

 a guidance for the workmen, and this only if the latter are 

 thoroughly reliable and competent. In the more advanced 

 stages of life each tree to be removed should be marked 

 separately and in the forester's presence, and this should be 

 done while the trees are in leaf, so that the effect of the 

 removal may be properly judged. Special care is necessary 

 where valuable timber trees are to be produced, where domi- 

 nating trees are to be removed, and where a proper mixture 

 of species is to be preserved. 



The exposed edges of a wood should be thinned heavily 

 from an early age onward, so that the remaining trees may 

 retain their lower branches, and thus be trained to withstand 

 strong winds. If the wood be subject to the effects of raw, 

 cold, or dry, hot winds, the exposed edge should be kept as 

 dense as possible, and an additional strip some distance from 

 it may be kept in a similar condition. 



The best time for the execution of thinnings is winter, but 

 local circumstances demand deviations from this rule. In 

 high mountains they must be done in summer, as the localities 

 are generally inaccessible during winter. 



