THE SEED-FELLING IN THE UNIFORM METHOD. 345 



the formation of seed, then, besides observing all the ten conditions 

 just enumerated, the leaf-canopy should, if necessary, be farther 

 opened out round each one of the future parent trees that is in want 

 of such help. But, usually, the carrying out of the fellings in 

 accordance with those ten principles alone will suffice to secure the 

 desired object. 



V. Selection and marking of the trees to be felled. 



The principles set forth in the two preceding sub-articles should 

 be kept in mind in selecting and marking the trees to be felled, 

 which work should otherwise be proceeded with in the same manner 

 as in the case of preparatory fellings (p. 335). But, as the seed- 

 felling necessarily makes larger and more numerous gaps in the 

 leaf-canopy, there is need for much greater care and circumspec- 

 tion. It is thus often advisable to do the work twice over, mark- 

 ing first of all those trees the removal of which admits of no 

 question, and then going over the ground again to choose the 

 remainder and complete the operation. The best plan, however, 

 is not to actually go over the same ground a second time, but from 

 the first to narrow the sweeps so that from the middle of any one 

 of them the operator may examine not only the trees on that 

 sweep, but also those standing on the nearer half of the adjoining 

 sweeps on either side, thus actually selecting and marking the 

 trees at once over a width of two sweeps. In this w r ay every 

 tree will come under review twice from two opposite standpoints 

 and the chances of an erroneous judgment will be greatly dimi- 

 nished. On the first examination, only those trees, the removal 

 of which is urgent, will be both blazed and hammered, the doubt- 

 ful ones being merely blazed outside the quick. If on examina- 

 tion from the second standpoint, the choice still falls on the same 

 trees, the blaze should be continued into the wood and forthwith 

 hammered. The wood-cutter will of course not touch the trees 

 which bear only a superficial blaze without the hammer-mark. 



VI. Execution of the seed-felling. 



The lines of work here are similar to those to follow in the 

 preparatory fellings. As, in the present case, the trees to be left 

 standing are both fewer and more valuable, greater care should be 

 exercised in directing the fall of those to be exploited, although 

 there is less necessity for previously lopping the branches before 

 felling them. For the same reason, and also because the sowino- of 

 the ground is either more or less fully accomplished or is imminent, 



