28o 



FORESTRY IN NEW ENGLAND 



should be made. In these thinnings gaps of from ten to twelve 

 feet should be left between trees in young and middle-aged stands. 

 In older stands somewhat wider gaps have to be made, owing to 

 the crown development of the individual trees. This calls for 

 a heavier thinning than would be used for the production of 

 lumber. It makes possible the development of a good crown 

 nearly to the base of the tree. In a sugar orchard so much 

 depends on the size of the crown, that thinnings to develop good 



Fig. 97. — A maple sugar orchard. 



crowns are advisable even in stands so young as to yield no mer- 

 chantable material in the cutting. A method advocated by the 

 United States Forest Service/ is to make the first thinning in 

 a dense thicket of young maples when the trees are only six to 

 eight feet high. It is done by selecting the more promising in- 

 dividuals, spaced about 10 feet apart, and cutting off the tops of 

 all the other trees. This can be done quickly with a bush hook 

 or other tool. Cutting back the tops a couple of feet frees the 

 selected trees sufficiently to enable them to forge ahead of the 



' See Bulletin No. 59, "The Sugar Maple Industry." 



