REFORESTATION ON MINNESOTA NATIONAL FOREST 65 



ents among the lumberman who could not understand such 

 a system of management. It was necessary in marking the 

 seed trees to leave many that were mature and over mature 

 and of little value as seed producers. Many of the seed trees 

 have blown down. After ten years of close observation, it 

 has been found that the seed trees have been practically value- 

 less. On the other hand, the policy should not be condemned 

 because it has been one step a great stride toward the 

 advancement of Forest management. It is needless to quote 

 statistics or dwell upon the causes and results of the failure. 



In July, 1915, the writer spent several days with Mr. Raphael 

 Zon in examining cutover 5% and 10% areas. Not a single in- 

 stance could be found where reproduction could be attributed 

 to the seed trees. A good seed year occurred in 1910 and ac- 

 cordingly, examinations were made upon areas that were 

 logged in 1909, 1910 and 1911. On one particular area where 

 the logging had been done in the winter of 1910 and 1911, a 

 fine stand of reproduction covers the ground. The entire 

 stand produced the seed and it cannot be attributed to the 

 10% left as seed trees. The seed was on the ground at the 

 time of logging and the same results would have been ac- 

 complished had the area been clear cut. Examinations of all 

 other areas proved the seed trees valueless. Under present 

 conditions, there is little or no chance for the seed trees to re- 

 stock the area. The ground cover has grown up very dense 

 and in addition there is a tremendous amount of litter that 

 effectively keeps the seed from reaching the mineral soil and 

 precludes all chance of reproduction. Cultivating the soil 

 with the advent of a logging operation seems to be the only 

 method by which natural reproduction has been obtained. In 

 that case, the 10% left has had no more influence in the repro- 

 duction than the 90% that was logged. The seed was produced 

 by the entire stand and was on the ground at the time of the 

 lumbering. 



Ten sections of the Minnesota National Forest were not in- 

 cluded in the timber sale and have been set aside to be main- 

 tained on a sustained annual or periodical yield basis. The 

 cutover area produced 500 million B. F. which have been re- 

 moved in the past 13 years. Had this area been handled on a, 



