152 THE PRINCIPLES OF HANDLING WOODLANDS 



In this country we are passing through the same 

 process of development. The two-cutting plan is used 

 in certain virgin forests under difficult market condi- 

 tions. With improved conditions the stand left after the 

 first cut may be taken off in two cuttings. It is probable 

 that this is about as far as we shall go in operating old 

 forests from 1 50 to 300 years old. 



The further development and more intensive applica- 

 tion will come with the second-growth regular stands, 

 which do not exceed 100 years of age. Already in 

 many parts of the East the market is such that the 

 system can be applied in much the same way as in 

 Europe. This condition is reached when there is a 

 market for all wood products, including cord wood, and 

 when there is a permanent road system — conditions which 

 enable the forester to make a thinning just when it is 

 needed, and to cut just what is required for the good of 

 the forest. 



Intensive Application of the Shelterwood System 



It is necessary to look to Europe for the best illustra- 

 tions of the shelterwood system intensively applied. 

 The description which follows is drawn entirely from 

 European practise. It holds equally good, however, in 

 the intensive application of the shelterwood system in 

 this country. 



The use of the shelterwood system varies to some ex- 

 tent. The individual cuttings may be made uniformly 

 over the whole stand, or the\ r may be concentrated in 



