Canadian Forcstiu Journal, September, 1917 



1293 



F If a yield is to be sustained per- 

 manently, it should not exceed the 

 annual growth which, in unmanaged 

 woodlots, probably does not exceed 

 ^ cord per acre. This production 

 can be considerably increased by 

 careful management. A woodlot may 

 be considered as similar to a savings' 

 bank account from which the annual 

 interest, represented by the growth, 

 may|§be taken out or allowed to 

 accumulate. In the case of the wood- 

 lot, however, the withdrawals can 

 be so made as to greatly benefit the 

 condition of the stand and improve 



its productivity. 



The Dominion Forestry Branch 

 and the various provincial forestry 

 organizations have done much to 

 encourage farm forestry by supply- 

 ing advice and assistance. The 

 Dominion Government distributes 

 annually between 3,000,000 and 3,- 

 750,000 seedlings and cuttings among 

 the farmers of the prairie provinces. 

 In Ontario, the Forestry Branch of 

 the Department of Lands, Forests 

 and Mines also supplies seedlings for 

 planting in farmers woodlots. 



Natural Forest in Contrast to Woodlot 



By E. J. Zavitz, 



Chief Forester of Ontario. 



The forest has been spoken of as 

 an organism and the forest tree finds 

 its best development as one of a 

 community. Proper soil conditions, 

 influence of trees upon each other, 

 etc., are all lacking in the common 

 woodlot or in the case of the roadside 

 tree. It should be understood that 

 the woodlot and roadside tree grow 

 under different conditions from the 

 forest tree, the former lacking many 

 factors which influence the latter. 



To understand the abnormal state 

 of roadside and woodlot trees it is 

 advisable to study the conditions of 

 the forest. 



The forest may be discussed in 

 relation to the forest floor and the 

 trees themselves. The forest floor 

 meaning the soil, humus, leaf litter 

 and undergrowth. 



The nature of the soil in the for- 

 est is greatly influenced by the pro- 

 tection and cover afforded by the 

 trees and by the amount of humus it 

 contains. 



Humus is formed by the decom- 

 position of foliage, twigs, and other 

 organic elements falling to the ground. 

 It makes heavy soil less stiff and 

 sandy soils more binding. It aids 

 in preparing food for the trees and 

 possesses great capacity for absorb- 

 ing water. Humus is very essential 

 to the proper development of trees. 



The lack of it in the woodlot, owing 

 to driving winds, makes a great differ- 

 ence between woodlot and forest. 

 The litter of leaves, etc., has less 

 opportunity of collecting and form- 

 ing humus in the open woodlot. 



In the natural forest, where normal 

 conditions prevail, the undergrowth 

 is composed of the more delicate 

 plants which are not a menace to 

 the reproduction of tree species. 

 When an opening is created in the 

 forest, soil conditions are such that 

 tree seeds have an opportunity to 

 germinate and grow before the open- 

 ing is filled with grass and weeds, 

 as is the case with the average wood- 

 lot. In the forest the tree seeds fall 

 to the ground and are protected from 

 sudden changes of temperature and 

 moisture conditions by the leaf litter. 

 Of course in many cases the leaf litter 

 is a hindrance, as it prevents the 

 seed from reaching the mineral soil. 

 In the woodlot the seed may fall on 

 the mineral soil, but the lack of pro- 

 tection prevents it from properly 

 germinating. 



After germination of the seed in 

 the forest the young seedlings have 

 protection which gives them a chance 

 for a time. If an opening occurs by 

 the falling of one or more trees these 

 seedlings spring up to fill it. If the 

 opening does not occur the seedling 



