272 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



Forest Woeking Plan for the Burbank Hospital. 



A year ago last spring the trustees of the Burbank Hospital 

 asked this office to examine 250 acres of woodland belonging 

 to the hospital. Mr. Cook, the assistant forester who made the 

 examination, was greatly impressed with the evidence of present 

 and future value in the land, and convinced the trustees that 

 they should have a working plan made for the place. This was 

 done in the fall of the same year. In this plan each type of 

 land was carefully mapped out, and the treatment to be accorded 

 each type was explained. In general, the report recommended 

 the cutting of mature growth, the thinning and improving of 

 growing stands, and the planting of such vacant land as was not 

 needed for pasturing cattle. 



Three lots were selected for immediate cutting. The first 

 was covered with a growth of mixed hard woods, — chestnut, 

 birch, pine, beech, oak, maple and hemlock. From the standpoint 

 of merchantable volume, chestnut and white pine were the most 

 prominent trees, and ranged in size from 7 to 25 inches, the 

 average being from 12 to 16 inches. The plan for cutting 

 called for the removal of all trees over 7 inches in diameter, 

 breast high, except a few pines which were to be left to seed 

 the cut-over land. The merchantable trees were to be left un- 

 injured as far as possible, limbs and tops were to be worked up 

 into cord wood, and the rest of the slash piled and burned. 

 Practically all the chestnut, oak, pine, birch and hemlock trees 

 were of merchantable size, whereas the maple and beech were 

 very generally below it. The reason for selecting this lot for 

 immediate cutting was that it had been more or less severely 

 injured by fire in past years, and it was feared that the trees 

 were slowly dying. 



The second lot was 4 acres of heavy white pine, nearly pure. 

 The trees averaged 15 inches in diameter, breast high, and 70 

 feet in height. It was estimated to run 35,000 feet to the acre, 

 but turned out to contain much more. This lot was cut clean, 

 with the exception of a few of the large, liniby trees, which were 

 left to seed the cut-over land. About 8 trees to the acre, and 

 placed as evenly as possible over the cut area, were selected for 

 this purpose. The spreading, bushy specimens were selected as 



