CHAPTER I. 



THE SELECTION SYSTEM. 



SECTION I. 



GENERAL CONDITION OF OUR FORESTS UNDER WORKING 

 iiY SELECTION. 



The Selection Method of Working i.g simply the exploitations 

 of primitive humanity generalised into a system. There where 

 ■wood was abundant and the forest open to all comers, each one 

 lielped himself to whatever he wanted. Broken branches, windfalla, 

 dead standing trees, dying poles, and loppings and toppings of every 

 kind furnished the people with firewood. Timber for building and 

 other purposes was removed from the nearest and most accessible 

 spot, a tree here, another there, and so on. Only what was actually 

 wanted was taken away, the branches, toppings, and useless odds 

 and ends, and trees that were found to be unsuitable after being 

 felled, were, as a rule, simply left on the ground. 



As long as exploitations of this nature are sufficiently restricted 

 in quantity, exploitable trees fit to satisfy all wants can never fail, 

 and no forest is the worse for them. Nevertheless the removal of 

 individuals here and there from tlie midst of a canopied mass 

 cannot but be very detrimental to the regular growth of trees of 

 broad-leaved species; and hence this method of working has been, 

 as a rule, confined to our conifer forests. 



There it yields results that differ according to the prevailing 

 species and the quantity of wood removed every year. In well- 

 wooded regions, where for the very reason that they are well-wooded 

 the forests aic placed under favorable circumstances for growth, a 

 forest worked merely by Selection without any fixed plan maintains 



