6 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 



by artificial means or originating from natural reproduction, 

 there ensues a term of several years during which the young 

 plants are being established or adjusting themselves to the 

 new environment. When this adjustment is successful and 

 the reproduction completed the period of establishment or 

 regeneration may be considered closed. 



In every stand the time comes, sooner or later, when it is 

 desired to harvest a portion or all of the timber and replace 

 the trees removed by others of a new generation. Cuttings 

 are made with the two purposes of removing the old trees 

 and estabhshing reproduction. They are known as repro- 

 duction cuttings and the period over which they extend is 

 known as the regeneration or reproduction period. Repro- 

 duction cuttings range from one to several in nimiber and the 

 regeneration period may extend from less than five to more 

 than 50 years. In the case of the selection forest this period 

 is identical with the rotation. 



2. Treatment of the stand during that portion of the rota- 

 tion not included in the period of regeneration: a consid- 

 eration of intermediate cuttings. 



After a new stand is established on open land or on wooded 

 areas as a result of reproduction cuttings, a long period en- 

 sues during which the yoimg stand grows and passes through 

 various stages imtil mature and ready, in its turn, to be har- 

 vested and give place to a succeeding generation. The vari- 

 ous cuttings made during its development from the repro- 

 duction stage to maturity are termed Intermediate cuttings. 

 They have as their object the improvement of the existing 

 stand without thought of reproduction. (See Fig. i .) 



3. Protection of the stand against injuries of many kinds. 

 The more important are fire, insects, fungi, animals and wind. 

 This subject leads into various specialized fields, such as fire 

 protection, entomology, pathology and zoology. 



