■ 427 



Coppice. — In cutting the following suggestions should be kept in mind: 

 Stumps should be cut low in order that the sprouts may become inde- 

 pendent of the old root system as soon as possible ; they should be cut 

 smooth and slanting or have the sharp edges removed so as to prevent 

 water from collecting on them, for in such cases they are apt to rot and 

 infect the sprouts ; care should be taken not to tear the bark from the 

 stump since this often prevents buds from developing at the root collar ; 

 the sprout should be cut when the sap is down, early spring or late fall, 

 for when cut in midsummer frosts are apt to kill the new sprouts which 

 start up, before their growth is completed and their wood hardened. 



MATURE OPEN STANDS. 



Character. — Most woodlots are remnants of the original hardwood 

 forest. The valuable straight grained and easy splitting trees have been 

 cut for lumber or firewood. Those which remain have received no at- 

 tention. They are mature, crooked, knotty or badly diseased and grow 

 in clumps or are scattered over the lot. Few are of any value. Almost 

 all these timbered tracts have been used for pasture, and as a result of 

 constant grazing the ground is covered with a thick, heavy bluegrass 

 sod to the exclusion of desirable young growth. If any reproduction does 

 occur it is very irregular and is composed mostly of weed species. 



Treatment. — The treatment of such stands depends upon the degree 

 to which it has deteriorated, its location and the owner's need for timber. 

 If it is on land better suited for agriculture and the farmer is more in 

 need of fields than timber, probably the best thing to do would be to re- 

 move the timber completely and cultivate. 



But if the lot is to be rejuvenated, the first step to take is to exclude 

 all live stock. Should it be necessary to keep some of the woodland for 

 pasture the thriftiest portions should be fenced off and most of the trees 

 removed from the remainder. More timber and more grass can be pro- 

 duced separately than together. The next step is to remove tree weeds 

 and other trees whose value is decreasing. The remainder will furnish 

 seed. In order that the seeds may have the best possible conditions for ger- 

 mination the sod should be broken up by means of a bull-tongue plow or 

 disc harrow. A rank growth of briars and weeds will probably spring up 

 as soon as the sod is removed, but these make a very good protection under 

 which the young seedlings are to develop. Soon the new growth kills out 



