FORESTS 



FORESTS 



825 



the case of oak, perhaps, the strips should not be 

 wider than the height of the trees, while in the 

 case of birch, elm, maple and pines, the strips 

 might exceed in width six or eight times the height 

 of the trees, and still they would be re-seeded suc- 

 cessfully. Such strips should generally be started 

 on the side opposite the prevailing winds at seeding 

 time, so that the seeds may be blown on to the 

 denuded land. Of course, in the case of oak, beech 

 and similar trees, where the wind has compara- 

 tively little effect on the carrying of the seed, this 

 point is not to be so much insisted on. 



Group method (Fig. 463). — The group method is 

 a system of cutting irregular strips successively on 

 the inside of certain groups. This may be termed a 

 natural method, and for general use, especially in 

 mixed woods, and where the land and tree condi- 

 tions are rather variable, it is much the best. If 

 this system is followed, one can adapt the method 

 of cutting to the diiferent species and to the differ- 

 ent conditions which may be found in the forest. 

 For example, a tamarack swamp, a dry knoll cov- 

 ered with oak, a steep hillside, and level rich rocky 

 land covered with elm, and very often various other 

 conditions, would very likely all be included in 

 almost any forest track of considerable size in the 

 northern states, and each part, for best results, 

 should receive special treatment. Under this plan 

 we can begin with one group or several, and we 

 can start our regeneration in each group perhaps 

 where there is already a good growth of desirable 

 young trees. In fact, this system gives us a chance 

 to begin regeneration where the greatest necessity 

 or the best opportunity for it already exists. The 

 size of the openings will depend, as in the strip 

 method, on the species grown and on the natural 

 conditions of the land. As a rule, the first open- 

 ings should be one-fourth to one-half acre or more, 

 and the strips taken around these openings should 

 not exceed in width the height of the trees in the 

 strips next to be cut ; but, as previously stated, 

 this matter should be determined largely by the 

 kinds of trees. Successive strips should be cut 

 only when the previous strips have become well 

 stocked with trees, that is, when regeneration is 

 accomplished. Of course, the regeneration in 

 each of these strips should be given the same 

 care that would be given to any well-managed 

 forest in order to bring about a predominance of 

 the most valuable kinds under the best light 

 and soil conditions. 



(2) Regeneration by artificial seeding. — Occasion- 

 ally it may be desirable to sow seed in woodlands. 

 This is often the case with ash, hard maple and 

 birch, and with our nut-bearing trees, such as black 

 walnut, butternut, the hickories, chestnut and oaks, 

 which readily renew themselves by such means. 

 These may be planted in spots or broadcasted after 

 the land has been loosened. In the case of pine and 

 spruce, however, success is uncertain under such 

 treatment, and should seldom be attempted. Per- 

 haps it is most certain to furrow out between the 

 trees with a plow, where it is practicable, as it 

 might be, for example, on some of the sandy lands 

 of Wisconsin and Michigan, where furrows might 



Fig. 463. Diagram iUus- 

 tiating gioup method of 

 cutting. Cuttings are 

 begun at points marked 

 1 and are gradually ex- 

 t ended by successive 

 cuttings, as indicated 

 by figures 2, 3, 4 and 5. 

 (After Schlioh.) 



be run between the trees or the land loosened in 

 patches with a hoe. In these furrows, or in patches 

 in the forest, the seed of pine or spruce might 

 often find just the right conditions for growth. 

 Such methods of treatment are occasionally used 

 in the pine forests of northern Germany, to secure 

 a regeneration of Scotch pine and beech. When the 

 seed is to be sown in patches, these should seldom 

 be over two square yards in 

 area. From these patches 

 the seedlings may be set in 

 near-by openings, after they 

 are well established. This 

 treatment can be made 

 successful only where the 

 standing trees afford the 

 proper shade conditions for 

 the seedlings. 



Under some conditions, 

 tree seeds may be sown 

 broadcast on the land and 

 be covered by the treading 

 of sheep. This would often 

 work well in the case of 

 brushy pastures on rocky 

 land. Ash, box-elder, maple, 

 pine, beech and other tree seeds are sometimes 

 sown in clear fields with oats or other grains, 

 where the straw protects from the sun in summer 

 and the stubble holds the snow and acts as a winter 

 protection. Seeds of ash, maple, elm, and some 

 other trees may sometimes be sown to advantage 

 in the hills with corn in prairie planting, and wil- 

 low cuttings may be used in the same way, or these 

 may be planted in the hills with beans. 



(3) Regeneration by planting seedlings. — The re- 

 generation of land by planting seedlings is prac- 

 ticed to considerable extent in sections where 

 timber is high in price. For instance, in parts of 

 Hessen it is no uncommon sight to see large areas 

 of land planted in spruce at as regular intervals as 

 corn is planted on cultivated land ; when the crop 

 is mature it is taken out by the roots and the 

 land plowed and again planted. In the parts of 

 Hessen referred to, however, there is a good 

 market for even the stumps of trees and the 

 smaller twigs. Such a condition is seldom fouhd 

 in any part of the United States. 



There is a large part of this country where 

 the land cannot be stocked with valuable trees 

 without resorting to replanting. This is often the 

 most economical way of securing a stock of conif- 

 erous trees in almost any part of the United 

 States under the conditions which frequently pre- 

 vail on our cut-over lands, where there is very 

 little chance for natural or artificial regenera- 

 tion of desirable kinds by seed, owing to the fact 

 that all seed-producing trees were cut when the 

 land was logged or have since been destroyed 

 by fire, and the ground covered by a growth of 

 grass, raspberry bushes, other weeds and inferior 

 small trees. Seedling pines often can be set out at 

 intervals of perhaps ten feet apart each way, 

 under conditions where they would be sufficiently 

 crowded by the weeds, poplars, hazel-brush and 



