154 OUR VANISHING FORESTS 



lines, and watching to protect the millions of tiny 

 seedlings in the soil. When the logging crews begin 

 work, to be sure, more than half of these tiny 

 seedlings will be destroyed by the skidding of the 

 logs, etc., but enough will probably be left to estab- 

 lish a crop. In case these seedlings already in the 

 soil should not be sufficient, the forester also selects 

 groups of young healthy seed trees which he marks 

 with a painted circle. These the logging foreman 

 must protect from all bruising and injury. The seed 

 tree idea is everywhere in its infancy, and most 

 attempts along this line have frankly failed because 

 the forest tree is a community dweller. When left 

 alone by the cutting of its neighbors it usually has a 

 short life, blown down by the first strong wind, or 

 succumbing to the attack of some insect which has 

 multiplied in the dead brush left behind by the log- 

 gers. From leaving single selected seed trees the 

 company obtained poor results, but the group idea 

 is a comparatively new one and only the next year 

 or two can testify as to its effectiveness. 



The most expert advice from both state and na- 

 tional sources has been obtained in the formulation 

 of the whole reforestation policy. As an example 

 of thorough-going faith in the idea the company is 

 now paying for an exhaustive soil analysis and sur- 

 vey of its land holdings, to determine just what por- 



