THE NATURAL REPLACEMENT OF BLIGHT-KILLED 
CHESTNUT IN THE’ HA 
NORTHEAST? RDWOOD FORESTS OF THE 
By C. F. Korstran, Associate Silviculturist, A , } 
f ppalachian Forest Experiment 
aisiion, and PauL W. StickeL, Assistant "Silviculturist, Wortiensters Forest 
eperiment Station, Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture 2 
INTRODUCTION 
Chestnut (Castanea dentata) once formed almost half the second- 
growth sprout hardwood forests of southern New England, New 
Jersey, and central and southern Pennsylvania; on small areas it 
often formed 90 per cent of the total wood volume. Its destruction 
by the chestnut blight (Endothia parasitica) has radically changed 
the composition of these forests. The rapid growth, abundance, 
and prodigious sprouting capacity of chestnut, together with its 
intrinsic value for a wide variety of uses, made it the most promis- 
ing of the northeastern forest trees until the rapid spread of the blight 
made its extinction inevitable (12).8 
The total loss of such a species naturally introduces serious problems 
_ as to the future silvicultural management of the forests of which it 
was an important component. These problems apply both to the 
North, where the chestnut is already dead, and to those parts of the 
Southern Appalachian region where chestnut still furnishes abundant 
ar aaa forest products, but where it is already doomed (4, 
Knowledge of what is happening on blight-killed chestnut areas is 
necessary in order to appraise the future growth rate of the changed 
forests and to determine the period of restoration of these lands to 
their full productive capacity with species other than chestnut. 
Studies of the effects of the blight upon forests containing chestnut 
and upon the character and amount of natural replacement were 
undertaken as a first step toward supplying such information. 
RESULTS OF 1920 STUDY OF CHESTNUT REPLACEMENT 
The first field study of the natural replacement of chestnut by 
other species was made by the Forest Service, United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, in 1920, in western Virginia, Maryland, eastern 
Pennsylvania, and northern New Jersey.“ Advance growth of de- 
_ sirable species sufficient to restock the stands was generally found. 
Larger-sized reproduction was not always present—thereby sometimes 
delaying future merchantable stands—although there were no vacant 
areas of any appreciable extent after the chestnut died. In some 
1 Received for publication Nov. 12, 1926; issued May, 1927. i . ; 
Z The writers wish to acknowledge the effective cooperation received during the progress of this study 
from Prof. R. C. Hawley, of the School of Forestry, Yale University; w.O. ee eae Connecticut 
Agricultural Experiment Station; W. M. Baker, Associate State Forester of New Jersey; and J. 8. Illick, 
Chief of Information, oun PSR? Ee ae 
a i number (italic) to ‘‘ Literatur . 648. ; 
4 Torsons i Se Te tay aceon ON THE SILVICULTURE OF REPLACING THE CHESTNUT ON BLIGHT- 
KILLED AREAS. [Unpublished manuscript.] 
Journal of Agricultural Research os fe ee 7 
Washington, D. C. Rey No. F-38 
39041271 (631) 
