THINNING. 39 



by simply girdling the neighbouring trees, or by 

 felling and burning them on the ground, which 

 latter is an excellent preparation of the soil for 

 seed germination ; and then, on the removal of 

 the valuable tree, we should have a clump of its 

 seedlings, some one of which would survive to 

 replace it. 



By attention to these rules we assjst valuable 

 varieties in the struggle with the inferior, and 

 pave the way for their ultimate predominance. 



Finally, under this head the golden motto for 

 the young forester is " Do not do too much." 

 It is quite true that in a young forest, if every tree 

 has ample room for further development, it will 

 make more wood than it would in a close forest ; 

 but, on the other hand, it must be borne in mind, 

 first, that the ground would support two or more 

 trees in the place of one ; secondly, that by foster- 

 ing early lateral development at the expense of 

 height, we reduce the ultimate yield ; and thirdly, 

 the admission of too much light fosters the 

 appearance of a frequently noxious, and some- 

 times in India an impenetrable, undergrowth. 

 Even damaged and crooked trees and inferior 

 species, although marked for removal, should not 

 be cut out until they threaten tq interfere with 

 the growth of more valuable trees ; and in thin- 

 ning or girdling in mixed forests to foster the 



