IMPROVING WHITE MOUNTAIN FORESTS 



123 



will number 5157 per acre of which 80 

 will be over 6 inches in diameter. 



The principal part of the sale area, 

 118 acres, is occupied by a mixed forest 

 of hardwoods and spruce from which 

 the better trees w r ere culled some 15 

 years ago. There remain numerous 

 defective and old hardwoods with here 

 and there clumps of spruce and balsam, 

 the trees in which have made consider- 

 able growth since the last cutting. This 

 type presents a very unattractive ap- 

 pearance. One sees at first glance some 

 very good looking large maples and 

 birches but a casual examination shows 

 some to be defective and others to be 

 overmature and on the decline. The 

 previous cutting left several big holes 

 in the forest where all the trees were 

 removed. In other places small clumps 

 and single trees which were left have 

 blown down making an almost impene- 

 trable tangle. It will be an easy 

 matter to put this kind of forest into 

 much better condition for growth but 

 it will be difficult to make it look well. 

 But let it be remembered that it does 

 not look well now. 



It is proposed to remove the yellow 

 birches and maples above 10 inches in 

 diameter and the paper birches and 

 other species above 8 inches. Spruce 

 will not be cut under 12 inches except 

 as a tree may be subject to windfall 

 if left standing. Trees larger than the 

 cutting limits will be left where they 

 are needed to fill up the stand. The 

 forest officers in charge of the sale will 

 have a good deal of latitude in deciding 

 whether to take or leave an individual 

 tree. The effect in this type will be 

 to remove about 4000 feet of timber 

 per acre with a considerable thinning of 

 the stand but care will be exercised to 

 make no large gaps. If after the 

 operation there appear to be consider- 

 able areas which have been clean cut 

 they will be those which resulted from 

 the former and not from the present 

 cutting. There will be left on the 

 ground some 6900 young trees per acre 

 of which 38 will be over 6 inches in 

 diameter, while 750 will be between 5 

 feet in height and 6 inches in diameter. 



Fartherest from the road and highest 

 on the mountain is a small section of 



virgin mixed forest which at the very 

 highest point changes to a pure stand 

 of small sized spruce. This latter will 

 not be cut at all. From the mixed 

 portion the large trees of both spruce 

 and hardwoods will be removed leaving- 

 the ground well covered with a vigorous 

 stand of young spruce, paper birch, 

 yellow birch and maple. 



No timber will of course be cut until 

 it is marked by the forest officer in 

 charge of the sale and the following 

 instructions have been issued to guide 

 him in marking the mixed hardwood 

 and spruce type : 



' ' In those portions of the type in 

 which there is considerable merchant- 

 able spruce a selection system, by which 

 all the overmature, mature, and deteri- 

 orating timber of all species will be 

 removed, should be followed. Windfall 

 must be particularly guarded against, 

 especially in the spruce. For this 

 reason the diameter limits specified 

 should not be adhered to except as they 

 may serve as an indication of the matur- 

 ity of the timber. Thrifty trees which 

 may be expected to further develop 

 within the next 30 years and form a part 

 of the succeeding cutting should be left. 

 Spruce frequently occurs in the form 

 of a group. In marking spruce, there- 

 fore, it will be advisable to form a group 

 wherever practicable of at least one- 

 fourth of an acre in extent and (1) leave 

 the group intact; (2) thin out the larger 

 hardwoods and spruce over 12 inches, 

 leaving the remainder of the group, 

 where the thinning can be done without 

 danger from windfall ; or (3) clear cut the 

 group. The method to be followed must 

 depend upon the composition of the 

 group, the site, the condition of the 

 timber, and the degree to which any 

 cutting within the group can be con- 

 ducted without making serious openings 

 and endangering the remaining trees 

 from windfall. The point to be borne 

 in mind is that it is desired to have all 

 mature or deteriorated spruce and hard- 

 woods removed, and where they can not 

 be removed from a spruce group without 

 endangering the remaining trees in the 

 group from windfall, the marker has the 

 alternative of leaving the entire group 

 or clear cutting." 



