January 17, 1902.J 



SCIENCE. 



93 



may, by judicious management in the cut- 

 ting of the old crop, secure the new crop by 

 the seeds falling from the old trees before 

 he removes them. 



This is the difference between the lum- 

 berman and the forester. The lumberman 

 simply reaps nature's product, takes the 

 best trees, the best cuts, and leaves the 

 rest in possession of the soil for nature to 

 do with it as it pleases, either to let it 

 grow up to weeds and brush or to recover 

 the soil, in due time reproducing another 

 crop. The forester has the obligation, 

 when he reaps, to provide systematically 

 for a new crop ; not the chance volunteer 

 crop of nature, but one of economic value, 

 of species that are most useful, in larger 

 quantity and better form and in shorter 

 time than nature, unaided, could or would 

 produce. 



If the College of Forestry were only 

 logging its tract as the lumberman does, it 

 would, indeed, be remiss in doing its duty. 



If the college were only doing what is 

 proposed to be done on certain parts of 

 the State Forest Reserve, namely, to cull 

 out the valuable spruce and leave the hard- 

 woods altogether, it would still be remiss 

 in its duty, for while, to be sure, the charge 

 of denuding the land could not be brought, 

 there would not be any good forestry prac- 

 tice in merely reducing the most valuable 

 part of the crop and its chances of repro- 

 duction. 



REPRODUCTION THE KEY-NOTE OF FORESTRY. 



The forester may not harvest his crop 

 without systematically providing for repro- 

 duction, replacing the harvested crop by a 

 crop, if possible, superior in composition. 

 This can be accomplished in more than one 

 way, and the choice of method depends on 

 many considerations which have reference 

 not only to the condition in which the 

 forest manager finds the forest property 

 that he is to manage, but also to the con- 



dition of the finances which are to back 

 him in this business of forest cropping. 



Where the lumberman has culled the 

 desirable kinds and left the inferior, or 

 comparatively less valuable ones, in posses- 

 sion of the soil, as is the case in most parts 

 of the college tract, it stands to reason 

 that, if the former are to be reestablished, 

 it can only be done by reducing the latter 

 and replanting artificially those we would 

 wish to be most prominent in our new ci'op. 

 Where the desirable kinds are still present, 

 a new crop may be reproduced from the 

 seeds of these, gradually removing the old 

 trees as the young crop needs light. The 

 College of Forestry proposes to use both 

 methods, separately and in combination, 

 taking advantage of any volunteer growth 

 present, and leaving the volunteer growth 

 of young saplings of hardwoods, conifers 

 and older seed trees where desirable, and 

 planting in pines and spruces to fill up the 

 natural reproduction. 



FOREST PRESERVATION BY REPRODUCTION. 



The operations of the college last year 

 extended over an area of less than 500 

 acres, of which it is estimated about 300 

 need planting. Owing to the unfavorable 

 winter, operations were delayed, so that 

 planting ground could be made ready only 

 to the extent of 105 acres, Avhich were 

 planted. The nurseries established con- 

 tain now material sufficient to plant 500 

 acres next spring, if the means for doing 

 tills planting can be had. Burnt and waste 

 lands have also been planted, so that some 

 225 acres are now planted. In fact, count- 

 ing by numbers, the college has, so far, 

 planted 100 trees for every four trees cut. 

 These are as many as its scanty resources 

 permitted. It is, therefore, folio-wing the 

 main precept of forestry to reproduce the 

 crop. The charge that it is cutting down 

 to mere saplings is truly puerile, for, while 

 there would be no impropriety in doing 



