66 NATURAL REGENERATION 



in competition with grass, weeds, and undesirable species. But he recog- 

 nizes that success cannot always be obtained under these difficult condi- 

 tions without assisting nature. Consequently he is ready to wound the 

 ground covered with grass so that the seed can germinate in the mineral 

 soil, or he may have to cut back briars or heather which is crowding out 

 the commercial stand. 



In the United States there are three schools of forest sentiment: (1) 

 The lover of primeval forests wants to spare all trees for the sake of their 

 beauty. He does not care whether trees mature and die and go to waste. 

 (2) The lumberman, who buys forests for profit. After stripping off the 

 merchantable timber he lets the soil take care of itself if he cannot sell 

 to a land speculator. (3) The State preaches a middle course — grow 

 timber as a crop and cut the stand when it ripens. This should be the 

 forester's Golden Rule. Let us profit by the example of a country like 

 France and use nature to help us in our task. Natural regeneration is 

 the aim in France and, in the United States, with our high labor costs, 

 forestry will be a business failure for some time to come unless 95 per cent 

 of our forest soil can be stocked without sowing or planting. 



Nancy School Policy. — Jolyet argues that : 



"In France silviculture has always aimed at securing regeneration by the play of 

 natural forces alone, man intervening only for exploitation, so as to give more or less 

 space to the crowns of trees selected as seed trees, and more or less light to the soil 

 destined to receive the seed. Our silviculture teaches us, moreover, that artificial re- 

 generation is not only onerous, but in addition gives poorer results. And this viewpoint 

 is fully justified. In reality, if you plant or sow by day labor, you are forced for economy's 

 sake to reduce to a minimum the quantity of seed, or the number of plants per unit of 

 area . . . and the owner is forced to retain for as long a period as possible all these 

 trees which have cost so much ; he will do his utmost to preserve even the most decrepit 

 specimens . . . they will have, therefore, on the whole, a reduced vitality. On the 

 contrary, if you employ natural regeneration, the seed trees sow on the soil of the 

 cutting area without counting the seeds ; the seedlings come in excess numbers and in this 

 mass of individuals, amongst which commences an active fight for existence, the weaker 

 and less sturdy are eliminated by the most vigorous which remain masters of the soil. 

 The stand will then be composed of trees selected by nature herself, on whose vitaUty 

 and longevity you have the right to count." 



This latter argument is perhaps contrary to the reasoning of some who 

 claim that young trees are only weakened by undue competition and 

 that thinnings (made so as to favor the most vigorous trees) should 

 eliminate this struggle to decide the survival of the fittest. But it re- 

 mains a fact that with proper thinnings natural regeneration produces a 

 finer forest than any feasible plantation and better than the average 

 sown stand. 



Assist Nature. — But the forester knows from bitter experience that 

 satisfactory regeneration cannot always be secured from nature alone; 

 adverse soil conditions may have to be bettered, suitable seed trees may 



