16 Forest Club Annual 



production. Many exponents of the selection system declare 

 that over 90% of the lodgepole cones open in three years. Since 

 this tract had been entirely free from fire there could be only one 

 of two reasons for the lack of lodgepole reproduction. Either 

 the cones did not open or else the seed could not germinate. 

 The presence of spruce seedlings which require better conditions 

 for the germination of the seed than lodgepole disproved the 

 latter, proving that in most cases the cones do not open 

 naturally. 



Between these two areas there was a strip of burnt over 

 land that was an excellent example of the results following clear 

 cutting and burning. Fire had traversed this strip eight years 

 before and destroyed the timber completely. Counts of the re- 

 production here snowed an average of 7500 lodgepole seedlings 

 per acre and an occasional balsam. A careful determination of 

 the age of these seedlings showed that all were six or seven years 

 old, which would indicate that the tract was not seeded in from 

 the sides but that the reproduction was due to the seed that 

 was on the tract when the fire occurred. 



From these studies it is evident that, so far as reproduction 

 is concerned, a system of clear cutting and burning gives the 

 best results. Opening up the forest results only in making ideal 

 conditions for balsam reproduction. Not only is the balsam an 

 undersirable tree, a forest weed, but it occupies the ground and 

 keeps out the spruce which might otherwise come in sparsely. 

 No pine seedlings germinate in the thinned stand. All natural 

 thinnings show conclusively that balsam takes the ground to the 

 exclusion of other species. On the other hand all burned over 

 areas which were left almost bare by the fire are almost in- 

 variably covered with a dense stand of pine seedlings. The 

 arguments against clear cutting and burning are that it opens 

 up the forest too much and that the danger from fire is too 

 great. A careful study of conditions show that these are 

 valueless. 



The only object in not opening up the forest extensively 

 is to give protection to seedlings and induce natural regenera- 

 tion. Natural conditions show that thinning or cutting to a 

 diameter limit does not induce reproduction of pine at all. If 

 then cutting to a diameter limit does not aid reproduction of 

 the desired species, some other method should be used. 



Danger from fire when the stand is almost completely cut 

 out is slight and the damage in case of fire is much reduced. 

 Under a system of cutting to a diameter limit the brush is piled 

 with the intention of burning it. Certainly the danger is just 

 as great or greater than in a clear cut forest. The burning of 



