﻿Forest, 
  Fish 
  and 
  Game 
  Commission 
  97 
  

  

  taken 
  off 
  within 
  the 
  last 
  twenty 
  years 
  and 
  another 
  cut 
  is 
  almost 
  

   ready 
  now, 
  thus 
  proving 
  that 
  poplar 
  will 
  reproduce 
  under 
  its 
  own 
  

   shade 
  and 
  by 
  proper 
  cutting 
  a 
  tract 
  can 
  be 
  made 
  to 
  yield 
  poplar 
  

   apparently 
  indefinitely. 
  

  

  In 
  view 
  of 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  poplar 
  is 
  about 
  the 
  fastest 
  growing 
  of 
  

   our 
  northern 
  trees 
  and 
  that 
  its 
  value 
  for 
  pulpwood 
  is 
  equal 
  to 
  

   spruce, 
  the 
  significance 
  of 
  this 
  point 
  can 
  be 
  realized, 
  for 
  with 
  a 
  

   mean 
  annual 
  growth 
  of 
  even 
  three-quarters 
  of 
  a 
  cord 
  per 
  year, 
  

   worth 
  $2.00 
  to 
  $2.50 
  per 
  cord 
  on 
  the 
  stump, 
  the 
  yearly 
  return 
  per 
  

   acre 
  will 
  be 
  from 
  $1.50 
  to 
  $1.80. 
  In 
  addition, 
  this 
  return 
  can 
  be 
  

   gotten 
  at 
  short 
  intervals 
  instead 
  of 
  waiting 
  fifty 
  to 
  sixty 
  years, 
  as 
  

   is 
  the 
  case 
  with 
  pine. 
  

  

  Thus 
  the 
  ideal 
  treatment 
  would 
  be 
  to 
  thin 
  over 
  a 
  poplar 
  stand 
  

   when 
  it 
  reaches 
  the 
  age 
  of 
  twenty 
  or 
  twenty-five 
  years, 
  cutting 
  noth- 
  

   ing 
  below 
  five 
  inches. 
  This 
  method 
  will 
  allow 
  the 
  trees 
  already 
  

   on 
  the 
  ground 
  to 
  fill 
  in 
  the 
  open 
  spaces 
  by 
  seed 
  and 
  by 
  suckering, 
  

   and 
  accordingly, 
  if 
  the 
  Rugg 
  lot 
  before 
  mentioned 
  is 
  any 
  criterion, 
  

   another 
  cut 
  would 
  be 
  ready 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  five 
  years. 
  

  

  There 
  is 
  one 
  drawback 
  to 
  this 
  plan, 
  however, 
  and 
  that 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  

   soil 
  deterioration. 
  It 
  is 
  generally 
  recognized 
  that 
  to 
  keep 
  forest 
  

   soil 
  up 
  to 
  its 
  highest 
  productivity 
  it 
  must 
  be 
  well 
  shaded, 
  and 
  this 
  

   condition 
  would 
  not 
  be 
  complied 
  with 
  in 
  the 
  plan 
  outlined 
  above. 
  

   To 
  this 
  end 
  it 
  might 
  be 
  suggested 
  that 
  wherever 
  pine 
  or 
  spruce, 
  

   etc., 
  seeded 
  in 
  beneath 
  the 
  poplar, 
  the 
  stand 
  should 
  be 
  allowed 
  to 
  

   come 
  to 
  complete 
  maturity 
  (or 
  cut 
  only 
  when 
  the 
  pine, 
  etc., 
  is 
  

   being 
  interfered 
  with) 
  and 
  so 
  strive 
  for 
  a 
  poplar 
  stand 
  with 
  a 
  pine 
  

   or 
  spruce 
  understory. 
  

  

  SWAMP 
  TYPE. 
  

  

  This 
  type 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  time 
  is 
  of 
  comparatively 
  small 
  im- 
  

   portance 
  both 
  as 
  to 
  size 
  and 
  economic 
  possibilities. 
  It 
  is 
  situated 
  

   on 
  the 
  flats 
  and 
  along 
  streams 
  where 
  the 
  moist, 
  cool 
  soil 
  is 
  

   favorable 
  for 
  the 
  successful 
  germination 
  and 
  growth 
  of 
  balsam, 
  

   tamarack, 
  etc. 
  The 
  canopy 
  is 
  generally 
  pretty 
  well 
  established; 
  

   litter 
  and 
  humus 
  quite 
  deep. 
  Balsam 
  is 
  by 
  all 
  odds 
  the 
  most 
  

   important 
  tree 
  in 
  this 
  mixture 
  although 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  time 
  the 
  

   presence 
  of 
  young 
  tamarack 
  in 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  swamps, 
  etc., 
  indi- 
  

   4 
  

  

  