FOREST PROBLEMS. 155 



trees would be enough to make a well stocked acre at maturity. 

 Since the land has a heavy subsoil, the chances are that there 

 would be a good tree growth, as trees are more influenced by 

 subsoil than by the surface. If such land is very accessible, it 

 would probably pay better to grow green crops on the soil, and 

 by careful rotation use it for agricultural purposes, for which it 

 may be fairly well adapted if carefully managed. 



4. B. has 600 acres of Jack Pine, four to twelve inches in 

 diameter. The soil is typical of Jack Pine land, being very sandy 

 and unfit for agriculture. What is the best treatment of it? 



Answer: Such land is only fit for timber growth, and Jack 

 Pine is probably the most profitable tree that can be grown upon 

 it if it can be sold as fuel. The aim should be to keep out fires, 

 and to cut the trees on the selection plan, removing the larger 

 ones when they attain a diameter of ten inches. It may, how- 

 ever, be best to cut clean on certain parts at each cutting, but 

 the cuttings in such cases should not be so large but what the 

 trees near by will seed the land. This tree has wonderful regen- 

 erative power, and soon covers the soil with a new growth. It 

 is rather impatient of shade, and the young seedlings do not do 

 well under the old trees. It often happens that the cones on 

 Jack Pines remain upon the trees unopened for a long time, and 

 often fire sweeps over the land which scorches them, causing 

 them to open and shed their seeds. As fire is to be avoided on 

 such land, in order to protect the young growth, it may be best 

 to gather the cones, and after roasting them slightly so that the 

 scales open, scatter the cones broadcast over the cut-over por- 

 tions. If timber is wanted, it would be worth while to try to 

 secure a stand of Norway Pine seedlings. 



5. A. has a dry, sandy prairie, the soil of which blows badly 

 when it is broken up. The trees blow out, and it is of very little 

 value for agricultural purposes. Can it be used for forestry? 

 The subsoil is fairly good, and there is standing water at a 

 depth of about ten feet. 



Answer: Under such conditions trees should do well after 

 they have once become established. The difficulty is in getting 

 the land stocked. By seeding the land down to clover, with oats, 

 in the spring of the year, the oats would come up quickly, and 

 prevent the blowing out of the soil early in the spring, and the 



