THE ART OF THE SECOND GROWTH 



In Pisgah Forest, Red Maple usually appears as a weed over- 

 shadowing aristocratic seedlings. 



The best Maple forests of the world are those of the lower 

 peninsula of Michigan. Here, old deadenings abandoned some forty 

 j-ears ago, and old windfalls at the edge of clearings show a natural 

 second growth so luxurious, straight, dense and perfect that little 

 remains for the forester to improve. 



Where a light ground-fire has destroyed a superabundance of 

 leafniold carpeting the ground, the regeneration of Sugar Maple- 

 is prolific after seed-years such as autumn 1909 in Michigan. 



I. Ashes: 



I. Primeval forests: The Ashes usually regenerate and stand 

 in patches or groups, occupying the moister sites. 



II. Culled seed forests: 



Protected by moist ground, the Ashes stand a good chance to 

 escape the fires. During early youth, the seedlings endure remark- 

 ably heavy shade. Weeding and improvement cuttings produce 

 splendid results. 



III. Cultured seed forests: 



Regeneration in the group type is easy, if helped by cleaning 

 (Ducker Mountain of Biltmore Estate) and gradual removal of the 

 obstructing trees. On old fields, on moist slopes. White Ash is 

 often accompanied by Yellow Poplar and Halesia. 



Plantations of three-year-old Green Ash have failed utterly at 

 Biltmore on dry, hard soil. 



Plantations of three-year-old White Ash along the creeks do 

 very well; also seed plantations on good soil in the gaps of a ridge. 



The early growth is very fast. 



Seeds are profusely produced from the pole stage on. 



J. Red Spruce: 



I. Primeval forests: The primeval Spruce woods appear as^ 

 more or less even-aged compartments in the swamps and sloughs 

 of the Lake States and on the dry, shallow South slopes of New 

 England; in the cleared group form and in the selection form in 

 Western N. C. at altitudes exceeding 5,000 feet, mixed with Abies 

 fraseri (selection) ; in the selection form, grafted upon compart- 

 ments of Beech and Maple, on the hardwood slopes of the Adiron- 

 dacks. In the latter case. Spruce never regenerates in the heavy 

 layer of broad-leafed humus, but selects invariably the half-rotted 

 corpse of a dead tree (Hemlock) for a seed-bed. 



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