180 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. 



one-half months, and furnished an estimate of the standing timber and 

 the rate of growth of the principal species. With these data at hand 

 it was possible to determine the amount of timber which may be cut 

 annualfy without exceeding the actual production of the forest. 



Market conditions are such that this annual production can be har- 

 vested in the form of thinnings and improvement cuttings, and a sys- 

 tem of cuttings has been outlined which will gradually better the 

 silvicultural condition of the forest and insure the reproduction vof 

 the desirable species. The successful application of the treatment 

 advised requires the skill of a technically trained man, and a resident 

 forester has been engaged by the owner. 



Another tract of 2,600 acres in Grafton County, N. H., presents a 

 problem in forest management which is exceedingly common in that 

 State. The mixed forest of spruce, balsam, and hardwoods has been 

 largely cut over, chiefly for the softwoods. Repeated cutting has 

 reduced the proportion of the valuable spruce. The owners propose 

 to holdthis tract for the production of timber for the boxboards which 

 their manufacturing business requires, and wish to manage the forest 

 in such a way that its composition will be improved and its highest 

 productive capacity maintained. 



The field work occupied a party of six men for two months. Two 

 tj'pes of virgin forest, three types of culled forest, and three types of 

 second growth on land formerly cleared were distinguished and care- 

 fully mapped. A detailed system of thinnings and improvement cut- 

 tings, which will favor the reproduction of softwood!s and improve 

 the composition and condition of the forest, was outlined for each type. 

 The working plan contained also an estimate of the amount of timber 

 which may be safely removed, and recommendations as to where cuttings 

 should be made for the next ten years. 



A third tract in New Hampshire includes 10,000 acres in Coos County, 

 in the heart of the White Mountains. Field work on this tract re- 

 quired the services of four men for two months, and a forester has 

 been engaged by the owners to direct the work of carrying out certain 

 of the recommendations of the working plan. The forest has been 

 lumbered for the softwoods, and has greatly deteriorated as a result 

 of the severe fires which have followed lumbering. 



The chief object of the working plan was to devise a scheme for 

 protecting the tract against forest fares. This includes a system of 

 patrol to prevent fire, and the construction of fire lines as bases from 

 which to fight fires which are not discovered in time to be easily 

 put out. 



The forest types were mapped, and thinnings and reproduction cut- 

 tings for the improvement of the forest were recommended for those 

 types in which cutting can be done without financial loss. The work- 

 ing plan includes an estimate of the yield of merchantable timber 

 which can thus be cut, a plan of administration for the management 

 of the forest, and detailed directions for work on each compartment. 



Studies of Commercial Trees. 



The scope of the studies of commercial trees was greatly enlarged 

 during the year, to include, besides the determination of volume and 

 yield, investigation of their commercial possibilities, and to make the 

 results applicable throughout their entire commercial range. 



