CHOICE oi< METHOD 107 



per acre and is exceptionally free from insects and disease, and at 

 the same time makes material most in demand by the market. Choice 

 of Silvicultural method is dominated by preference for this species. 

 Since Hemlock is far more tolerant and readily takes possession of 

 the ground even under a good stand of Red Fir, Selection or 

 Shelterwood are not well suited here, unless Hemlock is wanted as 

 mixture. With a prospect of excellent market within twenty-five 

 years proximity to sea. excellent growth and easy reproduction, 

 there is no reason why Clear Cutting with planting should not be 

 recommended. 



The foregoing sketches will indicate the view point and some 

 of the conditions which enter into the matter of choice of Silvicul- 

 tural Method to be employed in any given case. It is clear that no 

 general lines can be laid down which may be applied without modi- 

 fication, and every case needs special study. 



In this connection it may be stated that large areas of cut-over 

 lands, usually burned over repeatedly and deteriorated through soil 

 wash, exposure to sun and wind, and now occupied by useless brush, 

 should be planted without delay. The enterprise is a gigantic one; 

 it is peculiar in that it does not lend itself readily to ordinary private 

 enterprise. A man of small means cannot \vait fifty years for the 

 crop ; the men of large means do not want to wait. The local town- 

 ship and even the local county is too poor to do this work. So it 

 remains for the State and Nation. And particularly to the State 

 should fall this task, and all lands not well suited to agriculture 

 should be bought up and promptly converted into State Forests by 

 planting. Such an enterprise would be most profitable for any 

 State to undertake, it would assure local supplies of timber, stimu- 

 late wood-working industries, regulate water flow, help the appear- 

 ance of the district and would make millions of acres produce the 

 only crop which is an assured success upon these lands. The 

 attitude of indifference in this connection will cost vast sums in the 

 future. To get some measure of what is needed here it may be said 

 that a State like Pennsylvania could well own 20% of its land area 

 in State Forest, and that it should spend at least $1.00 per acre in 

 care of this and before long (in the life of a state) would have a 

 net income of $3.00 per acre from these forests. 



