74 



ed -svithin that time as rapidly, taking a forest together, as at any 



other age ; and, for fuel, it is then of most value Stumps 



of young, healthy, growing trees shoot most vigorously. They 



should not be under fifteen years, nor much over twenty 



Shoots will not come fi*om very old trees Evergreens 



never give permanent shoots from the stump. Several persons, 

 who have attended to the growth of the sugar maple, say that the 

 stump of this tree makes no shoots ; and the same is said of the 

 beech. 



The convenience of the woodcutter will generally lead 



him to fell the forest in the early part of the winter ; and, proba- 

 bly, taking into consideration both the quality of the wood cut and 

 the welfare of the future forest, this may be best. 



When the object is to destroy the growth, summer is univer- 

 sally declared to be the best season to fell the forest. 



It is among the things most unfavorable to 



the growth of trees, to gather the leaves together, as is frequently 

 done, either to burn them, or to add to the compost heap. This 



is bad economy The other circumstances particularly 



unfavorable to the growth of trees, are browsing, pruning, a thin 

 soil, exposure to sea breezes, to high winds and to frosts. The 

 first of these, completely within the control of the forester, is the 



browsing of cattle All should be entirely excluded from 



woodlands intended to be valuable and to renew themselves. 



I have already spoken of pruning. Where the object is wood, 

 it may be doubted whether any pruning is advisable, except in the 

 case that the branch of one tree materially interferes with the 

 growth of another. Plants receive food by their roots, and digest 

 and convert it to their various products, by and in their leaves. 

 Both roots and leaves should, therefore, be left to extend and 



expand themselves as freely as possible Whatever 



checks this expansion has a tendency to lessen the product of 

 wood. 



On thin soil, the roots cannot penetrate far, and a tree, sur- 

 rounded by others, will soon exhaust the proper nutriment within 

 its circle, and must then begin to fail. As soon as this happens 

 it must be removed, and trees of other families must be sown or 

 planted in its stead. 



Most forest trees are injuriously affected by the sea breeze, and 



