ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 103 



canopy is kept nearly complete, the openings made being 

 small and scattered. No other method affords such perfect 

 protection against erosion, injury to the physical factors of the 

 site and against the development of a grass and weed cover. 

 Seedlings receive shelter from sun, wind and early and late 

 frosts. The continuous cover of trees of all ages presents a 

 strong mechanical barrier to the progress of land- and snow- 

 slides. Such slides rarely, if ever, start in a selection forest. 



2. Can be applied extensively where markets are poor and 

 only trees of large size are merchantable. Poor market condi- 

 tions hamper the full development of the selection idea, but 

 do not prevent the partial use of the method, for even with 

 the poorest markets it is the largest trees that are salable. 



3. The method best satisfies the aesthetic purpose, due to 

 its picturesque unevenaged form, and avoidance of anything 

 approaching clean cutting. 



4. Windfall is eliminated or reduced to a small figure in 

 selection forests. The individual trees have the opportunity 

 to develop large crowns, compared to trees in evenaged stands, 

 and become windfirm. The small trees are well sheltered by 

 the older ones. 



5. Reproduction is relatively easy to secure, due to an 

 abundance of seed trees and to the protection afforded the 

 seedbed and seedlings. 



6. The selection method is the only one which maintains 

 the unevenaged form of forest. 



7. There is less danger of a disastrous fire than in forests 

 of evenaged stands in which the sohd blocks of reproduction 

 create enormous fire hazard. In case fire does occur seed 

 trees are always present to stock up the burned area. 



8. An ideal method for the small farm woodlot, because it 

 permits annual or frequent harvesting of large timber. Such 

 a woodlot (of five acres for example) is too small to be effec- 



