2 14 FIFTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



soon when another cutting of spruce and balsam can be made, or a portion 

 of the mature hard woods can be removed with the assurance that the 

 seedlings are already there in sufficient numbers to insure further crops. 



From the point of view of the forester, to obtain this condition is of 

 scarcely less importance than it is to secure the desired protection from 

 fire. The testimony of lumber men is practically unanimous that lopping 

 the tops results in a saving of timber, because after a top has been lopped 

 more of it, as a rule, is taken to the mill and yields a small return for the 

 trouble. This holds especially where trees are being cut into short bolts. 

 This is in line with the general policy of more complete utilization of all 

 forest products and a lessening of the waste material. 



In another way the requirement works to the benefit of the forest. If 

 small trees, not used, have to be trimmed out, men will be less careless 

 about cutting them down. 



Lastly, it has been noted that lopping the tops saves in operating 

 expense. 



In any operation where heavy cutting is being done it is necessary to 

 clear roadways of the debris in order to draw the logs to the skid way. 

 When the lopping has been done properly the clearing of these roads is an 

 easy matter, as the branches and other debris are in proper shape for easy 

 handling. The resulting heaps are far superior to unlopped branches 

 because they are more condensed. 



In hardwood operations the same result would be obtained by lopping 

 branches that is obtained in softwood operations, although the necessity 

 is probably not as great. The debris left after lumbering hardwoods decays 

 much more rapidly than that of softwoods and a smaller number of years 

 will suffice to greatly lessen the fire danger. The time required for this 

 depends a great deal on the closeness of utilization of the timber. Three 

 or four years after finishing a lumber operation for acid wood the danger is 

 nearly over, as the utilization is so complete that the debris that is left is 

 in such small diameter that it lies close to the ground and soon decays. 

 The same effect is had here as would be secured by lopping. Any hard- 

 wood operation that is followed by the removal of the timber or acid or 

 cordwood size would require little, if any, further work to put it in the best 

 possible condition for decay. In case there is nothing taken but the saw 



