027) 

 ar«a* Mother point to be oonsldered is that the 

 seedbed conditione were rather unfavorable for birch 

 since the area wae well drained and liable to drying 

 out due to the opening up of the stand and since the 

 cover of hardwood litter did not allow the seeds to get 

 to the mineral soil where they might germinate. The 

 third point to be brought out if the fact that the 

 time which has elapsed since the last cutting has not 

 been long enough to enable the seeding of these 

 openings with birch. It will be seen from Table 

 and Diagram that spruce constitutes a very small 

 portion of the yoving growth, in percentage only .03^ 

 or six seedlings ot saplings per acre. The reasons 

 that spruce will not reseed the area are; unfavorable 

 seedbed and insufficient moisture. The fairly large 

 amount of hardwood litter makes a poor seedbed. The 

 seeds may germinate on the leaves but their roots 

 are unable to get through to the mineral soil, because 

 of the impenetrable texture of the hardwood leaves. 

 The litter also sheds water easily and dries out, 

 leaving the seedlingd without the required amount 

 of moistHTe. Another disadvantage lies in the fact that 

 spruce seed is often dispersed before the hardwood 

 leaves fall. This tend to cover the seed to such a 

 depth that a fairly large proportion of the seedlings 

 are killed, by lack of light, too much heat,ajad too humid 



