SYSTEMS OF CLEAR-CUTTING 113 



soil be in a condition for the ready germination of the 

 seed and for the growth of the seedlings. Frequently 

 there is a heavy layer of litter which retards germination, 

 or a dense growth of weeds and brush which interferes 

 with the development of the young seedlings. Ordi- 

 narily the best plan is to destroy this material by surface 

 burning. The ground is burned over preferably during 

 a seed year. This gives an opportunity for the seed to 

 germinate, and for the young seedlings to gain headway 

 and compete successfully with other vegetation. 



Results. — The scattered seed-tree method produces 

 excellent results in reproduction where there is little com- 

 petition for the occupancy of the ground by other species, 

 where there is little injury to young growth by competing 

 brush and weeds, and where the soil conditions are favor- 

 able for the germination and continued life of the young 

 seedlings. There is no difficulty in securing an adequate 

 distribution of seed over the cleared ground, for that is 

 merely a matter of properly locating a sufficient number 

 of seed-trees. The difficulty is entirely in securing the 

 germination of the seed and the protection of the seed- 

 lings. Where the conditions are unfavorable for the 

 germination and growth of the seedlings, the system 

 inevitably yields poor results. In some situations a 

 heavy opening in the forest is followed by a drying out 

 of the soil. This is particularly true in the semiarid 

 regions of the West. In the same way, reproduction 

 under this system is apt to be a failure where there is 

 danger of damage by frost. In a mixed forest other 



