No. 4.] REPORT OF STATE FORESTER. 335 



borer, finds an easy entrance and soon kills it. The other oaks 

 seem a little more resistant to both the moths and the borer, 

 but except in very favorable soil it would not seem advisable 

 to attempt to grow them unless they can be well taken care of 

 by spraying. If oak is grown it should be kept in pure stands, 

 for if grown in mixture, as with pine, both the oak and pine 

 will be attacked. One owner of a very fine stand, consisting 

 mostly of large white oaks, desired very much to save them. 

 They were badly infested, and he spent large sums of money 

 in spraying and creosoting them for several years. On account 

 of the height of the trees, and the difficulty in always getting 

 them sprayed thoroughly, they were eaten enough so that the 

 borers found entrance, and this year it has been necessary for 

 him to cut them all off after a large part of the stand had died. 

 This shows the difficulty in saving white oak. 



The primary purpose of moth thinnings is to remove from 

 a stand non-resistant trees, and to leave and encourage the 

 growth and reproduction of the resistant species. The second- 

 ary purposes are to aid in taking care of the stand by other 

 and more direct methods of moth control; to increase the 

 aesthetic value of the stand; to decrease the fire danger; to 

 salvage the dead and dying trees; and increase the growth and 

 health of the remaining trees by giving them more light and 

 room. A moth thinning will not be eSicient in checking the 

 moths without the aid of spraying, unless practically all the 

 non-resistant trees are removed and kept out. In a stand of 

 pure oak, for instance, it will be necessary to cut clear and 

 replant with resistant trees. In a stand which is 50 per cent 

 or more resistant, and the rest oak, the removal of all the oaks 

 would still leave the ground fairly well shaded, and no replant- 

 ing or spraying would be necessary. Owners should realize 

 that it is foolish, year after year, to creosote and spray a grove 

 of trees which is mostly resistant, when if they would only cut 

 out the non-resistant trees and brush no other care would be 

 necessary. This thing has been observed in a number of cases 

 and persisted in, even after emphatic advice to the contrary. 

 An interesting case was noted in Cohasset this year. There 

 was a small area of large mixed hard woods surrounded by a 

 growth of similar character. About half the trees were oak 



