105 



"the seedlings, the nature of the soil, and the climatic con- 

 ditions. Where the cover was only slightly interrupted, 

 the felling would be said to be close; otherwise it would be 

 an open seed felling. When the crop of seedlings became 

 fairly complete, the young plants, having reached a certain 

 ■age, would require moreliglit. This would be effected by one 

 or more secondary fellingsf A final felling, to remove the 

 trees not cut in the secondary felling:s, would be m a de when. 

 the soil was fairly covered with young growth in the thicket 

 ■stage and had nothing to fear from complete exposure. 

 During the interval between the first and final fellings_ihe- 

 young seedlings would be carefully fostered by cleanings. 

 These would be made principally with the object of removing 

 •or retarding the upward growth of the more vigorous but 

 valueless species, which nearly always invade the ground 

 and threaten the existence of the more important kinds. 

 The cleanings would be followed by thinnings, to be con- 

 tinued until the crop was almost mature. In the blocks 

 containing medium-aged crops not yet under regeneration 

 thinnings would also be carried out, and where, as often 

 happens, over-mature trees were scattered through the crop, 

 these would be removed. The thinnings would be made with 

 a view to preparing the crop for regeneration during the 

 period assigned by the plan for that purpose, and generally 

 with the object of favouring the better trees by the timely 

 removal of less promising stems. Thus, in the block to be 

 regenerated in the following period, only dead and decaying 

 trees would be removed, while in those blocks which were" 

 not to be rogenerated for a considerable time, all trees over 

 a certain size or age, up to the limits of the capability of 

 the forest, might be felled, provided their removal was 

 sylviculturally desirable in the interest of the trees of the 

 future. 



This is an outline of the manner in which the method 

 of successive fellings is organised when applied to a forest in 

 which crops of all the different age-classes exist in the 

 requisite proportions. It rarely happens, even in Europe, 

 where the forests contain distinct age-classes, that - the 

 method can be directly applied without some deviation from 

 the ideally correct or normal treatment. Generally speaking, 

 in order to form the periodic blocks of compact shape and 

 fairly equal area, it is necessary to include in them crops 

 which must be regenerated out of their turn so to speak. 

 An example of such a proceeding is here given ; but obviously 



