Forest Protection 161 



year after year till the tract has, in fact, become a shaded 

 pasture; the forest conditions have completely disap- 

 peared and the woodlot has the appearance of a city park 

 with a few mature trees scattered over an open grass plot. 



The amount of damage done depends on many factors. 

 Of these, the most important are : the condition of the 

 forest when the stock is admitted ; the species of animal 

 admitted ; the species of trees ; the condition of the soil 

 and the slope of the land. 



The injury to the forest consists of : the browsing of the 

 young seedlings, and of the succulent leaves and shoots of 

 everything within reach; the gnawing and stripping of 

 the bark, especially from the young trees ; the trampling 

 and breaking down of seedlings ; the bruising of the sur- 

 face roots, especially by the heavily shod horses; and 

 the hard packing of the forest floor. 



The greatest damage is likely to result when regeneration 

 is in its early stages — for it is the browsing and tramping 

 of the young seedlings that does the most damage to the 

 forest. Each seedling nipped off means from two to four 

 years wasted in the growth of that tree, and the same 

 thing is likely to occur again when the growth is renewed. 

 This means that there is very little chance for the young 

 growth to grow above the reach of the animals, where it 

 would be comparatively safe. The correctness of this 

 theory is proven by the appearance of tracts that have been 

 heavily grazed for a series of years. Young growth is 

 absolutely lacking and only the mature trees remain. 



In a large forest which is managed on the compartment 

 system, it is easily possible to allow grazing in the forest 

 generally but prohibit it on the areas undergoing repro- 



