EXAMINATION OF TIMBEK. 43 



the timber to be cut and removed and has agreed to pay 

 for all timber actually cut under the privilege or advance 

 cutting at the rate of the highest price bid. (Appendix, 

 p. 159.) 



EXAMINATION OF TIMBER APPLIED FOB. 



Unless a detailed working plan has been made and full informa- 

 tion is already at hand, the first step after the receipt of any pre- 

 liminary application is to examine the timber. The most vital 

 question concerning the removal of any living timber is whether 

 it can be spared. To decide this question the approving officer 

 must know whether another growth of timber will replace the 

 one removed or whether the land will become waste, whether the 

 water supply will suffer, and whether the timber is more urgently 

 needed for some other purpose. One of the foremost points to be 

 studied is the reproduction of the forest under various conditions. 

 Wherever possible a stand of young, thrifty trees should be left to 

 form the basis for a second crop. Good reproduction and in 

 mixed forests reproduction of the more valuable species must be 

 assured before a sale can be recommended. The number of small 

 trees, ^heir kind, their vigor, the seed-bearing capacity of those 

 which would be left after cutting, the possible destruction of the 

 young growth by logging or fire, must all be considered fully. 

 The growth on similar areas \vhich have been logged affords the 

 best guide in this study. 



If the timber may be cut safely, then the best method of cutting 

 must be decided; whether all the trees below a certain diameter 

 should be left to form the next crop or only selected seed trees of 

 the valuable species; whether the surrounding timber will furnish 

 enough and the right kind of seed; or, in other words, what system 

 will be surest to bring about satisfactory reproduction. The object 

 of a sale is not solely to realize the greatest possible money return 

 from the forest. The improvement and future value of the stand 

 both for forest cover and for the production of timber must always 

 be considered. In many cases the need of preserving an unbroken 

 forest cover for the protection of watersheds will influence the 

 method of cutting recommended. All this, as well as to fix the 



