260 THE PRINCIPLES OF HANDLING WOODLANDS 



a judgment as to its practicability. Hardwood tops are 

 necessarily large, heavy, and awkward to handle. The 

 cost would be much greater than in coniferous forests. 

 It is probable that lopping and scattering will be used 

 rather than piling and burning. 



The author has conducted some experiments in the 

 burning of hardwood brush in the second-growth forests 

 of New England, where the wood was utilized to about 

 3 or 4 inches, so that the amount of brush to be disposed 

 of was much less than would have remained from logging 

 old timber in the ordinary manner. The results of these 

 experiments showed the average cost of piling and burn- 

 ing to be between 10 and 25 cents per cord. In this 

 class of material with good organization the cost would 

 probably not exceed 10 to 15 cents per cord, though 

 these figures furnish but scant basis upon which to make 

 calculation of the cost of piling and burning the brush 

 and debris from an ordinary hardwood logging opera- 

 tion, where the size and number of the limbs would be 

 very much greater. ^ 



Lopping the Tops. In some forests the burning of 

 the brush may be unnecessary or actually undesirable. 

 A method of brush disposal applicable in many forests is 

 to lop off the branches from the tops and leave the mate- 

 rial on the ground. The purpose is to bring all the 

 brush in close contact with the ground, so that it will 

 absorb moisture more readily, dry out less in summer, 

 and decay more rapidly than when propped high above 

 the ground. 



