106 THE PRINCIPLES OF HANDLING WOODLANDS 



possible. Usually they are located on ridges or upon 

 slopes. 



3. They are sufficiently close together to insure a 

 distribution of seed between them. The intervals vary 

 from 200 to 500 feet. 



4. The youngest timber is selected which will an- 

 swer the purpose from the standpoint of reproduction. 

 The younger the trees the greater the proportion of 

 living trees at the next cutting in the area. 



5. One selects trees having as small a value as pos- 

 sible, but which will meet the needs of reproduction. 



The purpose is to reduce the investment to a minimum. 

 An Illustration from Idaho. — An illustration may 

 be taken from the forests of northern Idaho. Here the 

 forest is composed of white pine, larch, hemlock, Douglas 

 fir, cedar, and white fir. An area of mature forest is to 

 be cut, on which nearly all the trees are old and many 

 are deteriorating. The stand is past maturity; there is 

 loss of growth, and the timber should be utilized at an 

 early date. It is believed that the pine, larch, and 

 Douglas fir will reproduce themselves readily on the clear- 

 ings, and that the cedar, hemlock, and white fir will come 

 up underneath them. A clear-cutting is made, with 

 carefully located blocks left untouched, where they will 

 accomplish the most good. The arrangement of the 

 clearings and the blocks is shown in Fig. 22. The 

 blocks of timber are left chiefly on the upper slopes and 

 ridges. Care is taken to select such areas as will be safe 

 from windfall, and will distribute seed. There is also 



