THE ASHES .* THEIR. CHARACTERISTICS AND MANAGEMENT. 43 



individual trees or small groups of trees of less than a quarter acre in 

 area — which are gradually enlarged until they meet, it is called the 

 shelterwood group method, and where the general cuttings are made 

 uniformly over a considerable area it is known as shelterwood com- 

 partment method. The latter method is suitable for comparatively 

 regular forests, while the former is more applicable to irregular 

 forests, including overmature natural forests, and hence is the one 

 to be most often used under present forest conditions. The compart- 

 ment system is preferable where possible, because it involves less 

 expensive and complex silvicultural and lumbering operations. 



In broken or open stands, where ash seed trees occur with com- 

 paratively free crowns, the first and second cuttings may be very 

 much restricted or even omitted altogether. There will usually be, 

 however, in such stands obstructing undergrowth which should be 

 removed when there is a good seed year, preferably cut with a brush 

 hook or bolo in the late summer so as to encourage the feeble growth 

 of tender sprouts which otherwise will likely be winterkilled. The 

 mature stand should be removed as soon as possible after reproduction 

 takes place. Much of the black and blue ash seed will lie over and 

 not germinate till the second year, which may delay removal of the 

 mature stand. Previous to the fall of seed much work can be done 

 in the way of preparation of the seedbed, especially where it is thick 

 and dry: (1) Wounding of the soil in logging operations; (2) burning 

 of the forest floor; (3) turning in stock, especially hogs. This kind 

 of work is not necessary when the cover is prevailingly of pine needles, 

 as ash seed can work its way through (PI. XIV, fig. 1). If reproduc- 

 tion is inadequate at the first seeding it will not pay (except perhaps 

 with green ash) to wait for another seed year, the area should be cut 

 clean at once and fail spots planted up. 



CLEAN-CUTTING SYSTEM. 



This consists in clean cutting the stand when there is a good seed 

 year at hand. Seed is secured: (1) By making the cutting after the 

 seed has fallen; (2) by making strip or border cuttings 100 to 200 

 feet wide on the most protected side of the stand, or by clean cutting 

 in patches 100 to 300 feet wide, so that seed may be secured from 

 trees in the adjacent stand; (3) by clean cutting except for scattered 

 seed trees or groups of trees, several good seed trees or groups to the 

 acre if possible, well distributed. Clean-cutting methods are adapted 

 only to moist or wet loamy soils with an open seedbed. Preparation 

 of the seedbed as described for the shelterwood system will often be 

 advisable. Green ash on southern river bottom lands is especially 

 adaptable to this system, but the other species of ash are much less so. 



