FOREST PROBLEMS. 161 



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they destroy all the young seedlings that start, and prevent any 

 natural regeneration. In good seed years it might pay to loosen 

 the soil, where it could be done easily, in portions that are not 

 especially liable to erosion, so as to give the seeds that fall a 

 good chance to grow. It would also be well to gather Black 

 Walnuts and Acorns, and plant them in especially favorable loca- 

 tions. Improvement cuttings should also be made where needed. 



17. A. has five acres of overflow lands along the Mississippi 

 river. This is about four feet above the low water mark. It is, 

 however, so liable to freshets in the spring that it would not be 

 safe to use it for agricultural purposes, and it is not desirable 

 for pasture or meadow. It is now covered with a heavy growth 

 of White Maple and Cottonwood, and some White and Red Elm. 

 What is the best way of managing it? 



Answer: It would seem quite probable that the White Maple 

 will become the most valuable wood of any now on the land, and 

 it should be encouraged by cutting out the Cottonwood wherever 

 it crowds, and also the White and Red Elm. The aim should be 

 to have a good stand of White Maple, as it seems probable that 

 this will produce by far the most profit. This tree makes a very 

 rapid growth on good soil, and the wood is used for a variety 

 of purposes. If the maples do not thickly cover the ground, 

 there may be some chance for good pasturage under the trees; 

 but under the best conditions there would be no opportunity for 

 pasturage. This land would possibly yield about 500 feet board 

 measure per acre per year if well stocked. Such land will proba- 

 bly be used for meadow when the country is better settled, but 

 this is perhaps no objection to using it for growing maple for the 

 next twenty years. 



18. A. has a piece of gravelly land. It was originally covered 

 with a growth of Bur, White, Red and Scarlet Oak, but was cut 

 over about thirty years ago, and at present has a rather thin 

 stand of stunted trees, many of which are sprouts from Bur 

 Oaks. It is burned over every year. The land is of very little 

 value for agricultural purposes. 



Answer: On such land the increase is very little, and there 



will be no profit in holding it for tree growth if it is taxed at a 



high rate. If, however, the rate of taxation is low, it is quite 



likely that the trees will yield a fairly good return. It should be 



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