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these men owns timber in Plymouth County, the other in southern 

 New Hampshire, just over the Massachusetts line. In general 

 their methods are alike, but in details of handling they differ. 

 Both recognize the fact that young pines grow best when close 

 together, thus shading and sheltering one another, or when coming 

 up under the protecting wing of a brushy deciduous growth. Both 

 go through their pines once a year, and thin out the poorest speci- 

 mens, or the brush and sprouts, and thus give the young pines a 

 good chance to push ahead. Both know the value of clear lumber, 

 and take care, as the trees advance, to remove the lower limbs 

 close up against the trunk, so that there remains no stub outside 

 the bark, aud consequently insuring clear timber beyond that 

 point. Here is where they differ. The Plymouth County man 

 trims his trees with a knife and thin-bladed axe, beginning when 

 they are, say, five years old. The New Hampshire man waits till 

 his trees are, say, ten years old, aud then goes over them with a 

 saw. The Plymouth man secures a greater proportion of clear lum- 

 ber by beginning when his trees are very young, but the New 

 Hampshire man contends that his timber sells well enough to suit 

 him (aud it may be added that he is a keen business man) . The 

 thinning process goes on from the first to the last. In cases where 

 seedlings have been planted, it is often worth while to do the 

 thinning for the first year or two with a spade rather than with an 

 axe, especially in the case of fine, thrifty specimens that are 

 crowding equally good ones. Thus many good seedlings can be 

 secured to take the places of the few that die from natural causes, 

 or to set out in new ground. As the trees grow toward maturity, 

 the improvement cuttings can be utilized for firewood, or, if 

 numerous enough, for lumber. 



It has been sufficiently demonstrated in practice that this thin- 

 ning and trimming is not expensive if done at times when there is 

 little else demanding attention on the farm. A tree can be pruned 

 at any season of the year when it is most convenient. In the 

 case of the white pine, an exception might be made by those who 

 consider outward appearances somewhat even in the timber lot. 

 A pine trimmed in the spring or early summer will " bleed," and 

 the stem will thereby be badly smeared with pitch. Authorities 

 assert that this " bleeding " does not injure the tree, but it makes 

 an unsightly forest. From August to March is the best time, 

 therefore, to trim the piues ; and most farmers will find this con- 

 venient for them, inasmuch as it is in the fall and winter that 

 their greatest leisure comes. 



A final word should be said concerning one of the most serious 

 hindrances to timber growing, namely, woodland fires. Until this 



