TOP-LOPPING IN THE ADIRONDACKS 77 



Where the cutting is heavy, it is necessary for the brush to be piled 

 to a considerable extent, in order to make room for the skidding opera- 

 tions. The piling of the additional one-tenth to one-fourth of the brush, 

 resulting from the lopping of tops, can have no very noticeable effect 

 upon smothering existing reproduction, or upon keeping out new 

 growth. Under any ordinary conditions the piles of brush can not cover 

 more than 3 per cent to 1 5 per cent of the ground. This is not enough 

 to interfere seriously with either existing or future reproduction. Condi- 

 tions in the edges of brush piles are very favorable to both classes of 

 yoimg growth, and piles are seldom so large that a normal crown cover 

 will not result from the growing together of the tops of trees around the 

 edges of the piles, as the trees approach maturity. 



Where the cutting is light, so that piling is not necessary, the lop- 

 ping of the relatively small branches remaining on the top, after the pulp 

 wood has been taken out, will make so thin a covering as they lie on the 

 groimd, that they cannot possibly have any material effect in keeping 

 out new reproduction or in smothering any yoimg growth which may 

 chance to be on the ground. In fact, the presence of brush on the ground 

 will facilitate reproduction, if the covering be not too thick. It is well 

 known that spruce requires a moist seed-bed, and the presence of a 

 light or moderate covering of brush, certainly assists in retaining the 

 moisture of the soil. 



In case of very heavy cuttings, it is undoubtedly true that the brush 

 may be so thick as to interfere with reproduction, but, in this case, the 

 proper remedy is the bumiag of at least the larger piles of brush, rather 

 than the discontinuance of top-lopping. As noted, the margin of differ- 

 ence is too small in a pulp operation to be very material from the point 

 of view of reproduction. In a lumbering operation, the margin would 

 be very much greater, but here the extreme fire danger incident to 

 unlopped slash prohibits the abandonment of top-lopping. 



The argument has also been advanced that top-lopping tends to 

 hotter fires, and therefore to a greater destruction of existing repro- 

 duction. While it may be admitted that fires in lopped tops may be 

 somewhat hotter, as already stated, during the first two or three 

 years after cutting, the reverse will be the case after that time ; and, 

 in any event, the difference can not be very material as to reproduction, 

 since usually even the lightest surface fire wiU kiU aU small growth. 



It is a matter of common observation that spruce seedlings are most 

 frequently found on old rotten logs. In some cases straight rows of 

 spruce seedlings were found, where the seeds had sprouted in the moss 

 on the tops of rotting logs, which later decayed entirely, carrying the 

 root systems to the groimd, thus enabling the small trees to firmly 



