LONGLEAF PINE. 35 



or oaks, which shade out a lot of pines and promise less valuable tim- 

 ber; these should be cut out much as weeds are eradicated from fields. 

 This process, known as " cleaning," may not be necessary more than 

 once. The last thinning is followed, at a suitable age and develop- 

 ment of the trees, by a clean cutting- of the stand. The clean-cutting 

 method is recommended for longleaf , because this species grows 

 naturally, and probably best, in pure stands or mixed with small 

 amounts of other pines. Longleaf, apparently, grows fastest into 

 timber when it comes up uniformly over the land and is kept at uni- 

 form heights, for it is a species that needs an abundance of light, and 

 hence must not be shaded by taller trees. 



The desired number of trees per acre for a given stand is deter- 

 mined largely by the quality of the locality or the favorableness of 

 the situation, and by the size and age of the trees. It is, after all, 

 more a matter of judgment and experience than of rule. (See Table 

 1.) In the earlier thinnings, when the stand is about 20 years old, 

 sometimes as many as one-fifth to one-third of the trees should be 

 removed. These usually represent, however, less than one-fifth of 

 the total timber volume of the stand. 



The final clean cutting of the stand should include provisions for 

 early restocking of the land before oaks and other inferior growth 

 get a footing. A good way to do this is to leave seed trees. These 

 should be the vigorous, full topped, or limby trees, of less value for 

 lumber. In practically all stands they may be found growing alone 

 in openings, and hence are well rooted and wind firm against the 

 storms that may follow the cutting. It is well to spot the trees 

 with white paint before cutting operations are begun, as is being 

 done in some operations in the South. Certain State laws require 

 this, as pointed out under " A seed-tree law." It is sometimes 

 good practice to cut to a diameter limit, as, for example, down to 12 

 inches. In this way trees below good merchantable size will be left on 

 the ground to aid in reseeding the land and to provide good material 

 for cutting 5 to 10 years later. In logging timber, often no profit but 

 a positive loss is incurred by trying to handle trees too small in size. 

 Good forestry in lumbering operations calls for preserving the young 

 and thrifty trees. 



The amount of material secured from the several thinnings re- 

 quired in well-stocked stands up to an age of 50 to 70 years might 

 i\ be equivalent to one-third of the total amount yielded at the 

 final cutting of the stand. The vulue of the timber, of course, would 

 depend upon its location with reference to transportation facilities 

 and upon the competition from outside markets. Wherever possible 

 the trees to be removed in thinnings should first be worked for tur- 

 pentine, because at times the gum brings more than would be realized 



