FOREST PROBLEMS. 155 
trees would be enough to make a well stocked acre at maturity. 
Since the land has a heavy subsoil, the chances are that there 
would be a good tree growth, as trees are more influenced by 
subsoil than by the surface. If such land is very accessible, it 
would probably pay better to grow green crops on the soil, and 
by careful rotation use it for agricultural purposes, for which it 
may be fairly well adapted if carefully managed. 
4. B. has 600 acres of Jack Pine, four to twelve inches in 
diameter. The soil is typical of Jack Pine land, being very sandy 
and unfit for agriculture. What is the best treatment of it? 
Answer: Such land is only fit for timber growth, and Jack 
Pine is probably the most profitable tree that can be grown upon 
it if it can be sold as fuel. The aim should be to keep out fires, 
and to cut the trees on the selection plan, removing the larger 
ones when they attain a diameter of ten inches. It may, how- 
ever, be best to cut clean on certain parts at each cutting, but 
the cuttings in such cases should not be so large but what the 
trees near by will seed the land. This tree has wonderful regen- 
erative power, and soon covers the soil with a new growth. It 
is rather impatient of shade, and the young seedlings do not do 
well under the old trees. It often happens that the cones on 
Jack Pines remain upon the trees unopened for a long time, and 
often fire sweeps over the land which scorches them, causing 
them to open and shed their seeds. As fire is to be avoided on 
such land, in order to protect the young growth, it may be best 
to gather the cones, and after roasting them slightly so that the 
scales open, scatter the cones broadcast over the cut-over por- 
tions. If timber is wanted, it would be worth while to try to 
secure a stand of Norway Pine seedlings. 
5. A. has a dry, sandy prairie, the soil of which blows badly 
when it is broken up. The trees blow out, and it is of very little 
value for agricultural purposes. Can it be used for forestry? 
The subsoil is fairly good, and there is standing water at a 
depth of about ten feet. 
Answer: Under such conditions trees should do well after 
they have once become established. The difficulty is in getting 
the land stocked. By seeding the land down to clover, with oats, 
in the spring of the year, the oats would come up quickly, and 
prevent the blowing out of the soil early in the spring, and the 
