66 THE SHELTERWOOD METHOD 



the intervals at which one follows the other are governed by 

 the degree to which the young stand needs protection or is 

 suffering from too much shelter. 



After the reproduction is established it is watched for indi- 

 cations of poor condition. Such points especially as un- 

 healthy color of the foliage, falling off of height growth and 

 bending aside toward the light are taken as showing the need 

 of less shade and competition. This condition of the repro- 

 duction is not likely to be found uniformly over the whole 

 area, at any one time. On the contrary a patch here and a 

 patch there will probably require treatment. Hence the re- 

 moval cuttings are not made evenly over the whole area. A 

 group may be cut clear here, a few trees thinned out in other 

 places, while elsewhere there may be no cutting. A few years 

 later other places need a similar cutting, and the process con- 

 tinues until at last all the old timber is harvested (see Fig. 19). 



Removal cuttings are likely to be needed at intervals of 

 two to five years and to cover a period of from two to 20 

 years. They utilize the remaining 25 to 50 per cent of the 

 volume of the original stand. 



Each removal cutting does some injury to the young stand. 

 Where proper methods are enforced in felling trees and in 

 hauling the logs to the roads this injury is not of serious 

 consequence. Hauling out the logs with single horses makes 

 narrow lanes through the reproduction and minimizes the 

 damage from this source. While the trees in being felled 

 will destroy many seedlings, yet this loss will rarely interfere 

 with a full stocking of the area. 



Modifications of the Method. The shelterwood method 

 may be applied in a given stand either: 



(a) Uniformly over the entire stand. the uniform method 



(b) In strips, - strip shelterwood 



(c) In groups or patches, - group shelterwood. 



