638 Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 34, No.7 
the number of live trees and basal areas of the dominant stand as 
they were in 1910-11 and in 1924. The change in average basal 
area for the same six Connecticut plots is shown graphically in Fig- 
ure 6. The outstanding feature of Table 1 is the increase in basal 
area of red oak and chestnut oak, together with an actual increase 
in the number of stems. The natural replacement of the original 
chestnut forests by stands running very largely to valuable oak is 
strikingly brought out by this table. While these plots were located 
in typical stands, some had been thinned one or more times before 
the 1910-11 records were taken. In 1910 the 217.4 trees per acre in 
the upper crown class ranged in size from 3 to 13 inches, breast high, 
averaging 8 inches; and now after the chestnut has died and the 
forest is beginning to rehabilitate itself, there are 132.8 trees per acre 
BASAL AREA PER ACRE IN SQUARE FEET 
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 
TOTALS 
PER ACRE 
CHESTNUT 
RED OAK 
CHESTNUT 
OAK 
SCARLET 
OAK 
WHITE OAK 
Gm BASAL AREA IN [910-11 
BLACK OAK & [1 BASAL AREA IN 1924 
SWEET 
BIRCH 
RED 
MAPLE 
= 
WHITE ASHP 
HICKORY 
SUGAR 
MAPLE 
Fic. 6.—Change in basal area by species for the dominant part of the stand from 1910-11 to 
1924 (graph based on averages from summary of six Connecticut plots) 
in the upper crown cover, ranging from 2 to 15 inches in diameter 
and averaging 7.3 inches. 
Permanent plots 319 and 320 are of particular interest. They are 
located on the Maltby tract in a stand which was clear cut about 
five years prior to their establishment in 1904. In 1909 chestnut 
comprised 24 per cent of the stand, while in 1924 the only living 
chestnut was sprout growth an inch or less in diameter and not more 
than 3 to 4 years old—overtopped, heavily infected, and dying. 
This area is now stocked at the rate of 785 trees to the acre in the 
upper crown cover, ranging from 1 to 6 inches in diameter. 
The dominant stand on these plots is composed of 45 per cent 
class 1 species, 41 per cent class 2 species, and only 14 per cent class 
3 species. Out of a total of 995 trees of class 3 species, 89 per cent 
are overtopped trees, which on account of their slow growth will 
probably not gain a position in the upper crown cover. In fact, some 
of these trees now in the overstory will in time be overtopped by the 
faster-growing species of classes 1 and 2. 
