26 ELEMENTS OF SYLVICULTURE. 



ground. If the forester does not step in at this 

 crisis, the overtopped plants begin to wither away, 

 and ultimately disappear altogether. 



How THE METHOD OF THINNINGS ACCORDS WITH 

 THESE PHENOMENA. To meet these two classes of 

 phenomena, as well as to assist and to turn to account 

 the action of nature, the method we are now 

 discussing brings to its aid two kinds of cuttings, 

 Regeneration cuttings and Improvement cuttings. 

 The former are three in number, and they are termed 

 respectively the primary, secondary, and final cut- 

 tings ; the latter consist si cleanings and thinnings. 



KEGENERATION CUTTINGS. Eeproduction by seed 

 must only be looked for in those parts of the forest 

 which have arrived at maturity. Strictly speaking, 

 no doubt, a high forest may be regenerated as soon 

 as the trees are fertile. But besides the fact that the 

 timber at this moment is far from being really useful, 

 the crop of seedlings produced at that period is 

 seldom either complete or under favourable conditions 

 of future growth. Nature does not act thus ; a few 

 seedlings may perhaps make their appearance under 

 middle-aged timber ; but it is only under old and 

 lofty forest, which has already begun to admit a 

 little sunlight, that young plants with some chance 

 of living are found in any numbers. Besides, in all 

 State or communal forests the interest of the 

 proprietors is to produce the most useful material, 

 i.e., large timber. From losing sight of this fact 

 many mistakes have been made; and people have 

 even gone to the extent of denying the excellence of 

 the .method of thinnings. 



