38 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BULLETIN NO. 484. 



replaced, and which in addition will be secure against possible dam- 

 age by the gipsy moth. Of the two plans suggested, the former, 

 removal in one cutting, is preferable, because costs of cutting and of 

 cleaning will be less, damage to planted stock will be eliminated, and 

 less time will be required to accomplish the conversion of the stand. 

 The possibility of control by successive cuttings is the object of 

 experiments now in progress on this and other lots. Pending their 

 conclusion, the removal in one cutting is recommended to owners 

 of stands of this character who wish to do something at once. 



STAND AT MEDFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS. 



THE MANAGEMENT OF A TYPICAL MIXED HARDWOOD STAND WITH ONE-TENTH 



WHITE OAK. 



The woodlot contained only six species on 1.3 acres, but the three 

 species of oak and the chestnut together constituted 90 per cent of the 

 whole. Since chestnut, the leading species, formed 52 per cent of the 

 stand and is a controlling tree of Class II (not favored food until 

 after the earlier larval stages) and is present in sufficient numbers, 

 it must be the determining factor in management. 



The lot slopes gently to the north and northeast and has good 

 soil, a brown sandy loam, deep, moist, and well drained, and free 

 from stones. 



The trees averaged 6.6 inches in diameter breast high, about 40 

 years old, and 426 per acre. 



The gipsy-moth infestation was first found in 1909 in similar 

 growth on the adjoining lot to the east, where, in spite of creosoting 

 by the local moth superintendent, 40 per cent of all trees and 80 per 

 cent of the white oaks had died by 1913. On the lot now under 

 consideration the gipsy-moth infestation in 1913 was very severe, 

 but less than 10 per cent of the trees were dead. 



The usual form of management recommended by foresters for a 

 stand of this character is the simple coppice system, using a rotation 

 of about 60 years, with several thinnings. This means merely that 

 the stand is to be cut clear at that age and allowed to reproduce by 

 sprouting, after which thinnings are made if possible to do so with- 

 out loss. To secure gipsy-moth control this should be modified by 

 discriminating against the oaks and eliminating the white oak, 

 which latter may often be done without harmful effects silviculturally 

 in cases like this where white oak forms only 10 per cent of the stand. 



Successive cuttings. — As the stand has not been under management 

 and the infestation is heavy, the first cutting, a thinning, should be 

 made at once along the lines indicated above, favoring chestnut and 

 releasing and favoring white pine. Fifty per cent of the total num- 

 ber of trees may be removed without unduly exposing the ground 

 and with real benefit from a general silvicultural standpoint. The 

 result of the thinning described appears in the following table. 



