IMPROVEMENT CUTTINGS 



93 



SCHEDULE OF IMPROVEMENT CUTTINGS FOR A WHITE PINE 



PLANTATION. 



Crosses indicate cuttings. 



Methods of Controlling Cuttings. — In order to be sure that the 

 style of cutting desired is actually carried out on any particular 

 tract, it is necessary to oversee the work with great care. This 

 is so whether an improvement or reproduction cutting is made. 

 It is especially true where the cutting is done by a contractor, or 

 is in charge of old lumberjacks, trained to wasteful methods and 

 unwilling to accept new ideas. 



Control of the cutting can be assured best by marking all trees 

 to be cut (or those to be left) and frequently inspecting the cut- 

 tings to see that the marking is being followed, or by outlining 

 the general plan of cutting to a foreman and then frequently 

 inspecting his work to be sure that he carries out the plan 

 correctly. 



The choice of the method of control will be mainly determined 

 by the style of cutting. 



In thinnings it is best to mark carefully either the trees to 

 be cut or those to be left. Cleanings, liberation cuttings, and 

 damage cuttings (because in making them it is usually a simpler 

 proposition to recognize what should be removed) can often be 

 satisfactorily controlled by furnishing the foremen in charge 

 with general instructions and then looking over the work at 

 frequent intervals. Many times, however, the trees to be cut 

 in liberation and damage cuttings should be marked. 



