20 IMPORTANT TIMBER TREES 



which is very uncertain. If they fall in the deep shadow 

 of the remaining trees, or among bushes, weeds, brush, or 

 other stuff, they are deposited where germination is very 

 uncertain and infant tree life nearly impossible. At best 

 they may fall on a forest floor the top of which is com- 

 posed of leaves in only a partial state of decay. If enough 

 moisture is found there to induce germination there is no 

 mineral soil close by for the tender rootlet to enter and 

 secure moisture and food, and a few days of dry weather 

 will kill the little plants outright. Unless mineral soil can 

 be reached soon after the seed bursts into life, or the seed- 

 bed be kept continually moist, the life of the plant is very 

 uncertain. With nearly all of our timber trees mineral soil 

 is necessary to support life in infancy as well as later on. 

 A careful examination of the area underneath the crown 

 of a seed-bearing tree, even in a comparatively open forest, 

 will show how few seeds bring forth plants. If the weak 

 root is compelled to work its way down through the par- 

 tially decomposed leaves to mineral soil, or the miniature 

 stem compelled to encounter undecayed leaves in its efforts 

 to grow upward, the chances are more than a hundred to 

 one that failure will result. Millions of seeds may fall and 

 not one produce a tree. From all this it will be seen that 

 there are great uncertainties connected with natural re- 

 forestation, and wisdom demands that these uncertainties 

 be recognized and guarded against. 



It is true that natural reforestation is Nature's method, 

 and it is cheerfully admitted that in some cases it is the best 

 way, and when it is it should be followed ; and it will be 

 seen that it is recommended in many cases when discussing 

 the best methods of propagating certain species ; but un- 

 less the conditions and the character of trees and sur- 

 roundings are exceptional, it will be found far more likely 

 to fail than otherwise. If adopted, care must be taken that 

 succeeding crops do not "grow smaller by degrees and 

 beautifully less." 



Accepting, then, the conclusion that we cannot, to any 



