:lii APPENDIX. 



-be kept close and even, and thinnings carried out in a careful and 

 . regular manner, gradually reducing the number of the dominating 

 stems by freeing the best and most vigorous crowns among them 

 but remembering always that the crop is one united whole, inter- 

 dependent and inter-responsible. 



Bagneris asserts : " To obtain the full benefit of thinnings 

 they must be repeated whenever the crop becomes too crowded to 

 .-allow of the normal expansion of the crowns ; observation shows 

 that they should be more frequent during the period of height, 

 growth, and that they should preferably occur after equal intervals, 

 in general every 10 years up to the 70th year or less according to 

 -species." 



It cannot be too often asserted that thinnings must be made 

 in the canopy of the dominant trees. Suppressed trees may be 

 removed by all means if there is any demand for them, but their 

 removal has no effect on the silvicultural condition of the main 

 crop. In some cases in dealing with the sal it may be desirable 

 to retain the suppressed trees to conserve the moisture content 

 of the soil to the maximum. Howard has made an attempt to 

 classify thinnings, vide proceedings of the Indian Silvicultural 

 Conference, 1918. His grade A and B of ordinary thinning 

 "Gclaircie par le las are of no value whatever as a silvicultural 

 operation. His grade C is too drastic in that it involves the 

 removal of all classes of trees save the dominant and the thinning 

 of the latter. This prescription is certainly modified by his two 

 qualifications : 



(a) In all cases in which holes would be created by the 

 removal of dominant trees, dominated and suppressed 

 trees should be left to cover the ground. 



(6) In removing sound dominated trees with badly shaped 

 crowns or boles, the operations must be made with. 

 due regard to the stocking and condition of the whole 

 crop. 



