THE SHELTERWOOD SYSTEM 153 



strips or groups; and in the latter case a given cutting 

 affects only a part of the stand. There are recognized in 

 Europe three methods of application: 



Cuttings distributed uniformly. 



Cutting in strips. 



Cutting in groups. 



Shelterwood System with Uniform Cuttings 



This is called the uniform system because the va- 

 rious operations extend over the whole stand, and the 

 thinnings are designed to secure a regular and uniform 

 reproduction over the area, rather than in groups or in 

 strips. 



In order to make the description concrete, let us sup- 

 pose that the stand in question is pure spruce, even-aged, 

 about 100 years old, and fully stocked. The design 

 is to cut and reproduce the stand within a period of 20 

 years. This is done by a series of thinnings which fall 

 into the following groups: 



1. The Preparatory Cuttings, designed to prepare for 

 reproduction. 



2. A Seed Cutting, which accomplishes the reproduc- 

 tion. 



3. The Removal Cuttings, which are made to help the 

 seedling growth and which include the Final Cutting. 



The Preparatory Cuttings. The objects of the pre- 

 paratory cuttings are: 



1. To prepare the soil for the reception and germina- 

 tion of the seed. A dense spruce forest is characterized 



