FISHERIES, GAME AND FORESTS. 341 



rigid conditions of the market — the cost of labor and the selling price of material. 

 The range of improvement is narrowly circumscribed, and any attempt at theoretical 

 forestry which ignores these conditions must result in pecuniary loss and consequent 

 failure. 



Until a market is found for some of the material which now goes to waste, and 

 also for the utilization of species which are now unsalable or inaccessible, the oppor- 

 tunity for improvement will be limited to such work as prices will permit. 



There are some ways, however, in which our private land holders can handle their 

 products to better advantage, and improve their forests without incurring much extra 

 expense : 



First: When constructing roads, bridges and skidways, merchantable timber 

 should not be used where other kinds can be cut for such purposes. 



Second : In the felling of trees and skidding of logs the young growth should be 

 injured as little as possible. The young seedlings of desirable species, hidden in the 

 underbrush, should receive especial care; their growth should be fostered by clearing 

 away the bushes or saplings that shade or repress them. 



Third: The cutting of small trees of merchantable species should not be per- 

 mitted, for their removal will cause a reduction in land values greater than the profit 

 obtained by cutting them. These young" trees, if left, will in time furnish a future 

 supply of timber for market purposes. 



Fonrtli : The tree tops and large limbs should be cut or lopped so that they will 

 lie close to the ground, where, by the crushing of successive snowfalls and absorption 

 of moisture, they will soon decay, and thereby lessen the danger or intensity of 

 any fire. 



Fifth: Trees standing on very steep slopes should not be cut; for their removal 

 is liable to result in displacement of the soil. Where any species grows in thick 

 clumps, the cutting should be restricted so as to prevent too great a clearing, thereby 

 insuring safety from the injurious effects of sun or wind. 



Sixth : To limit the cutting of merchantable species to some fixed diameter, one 

 as large as the taxes and interest on the investment will permit. 



Seventh : To prevent any grazing of cattle that may destroy the seedlings upon 

 which the future growth depends. 



Eighth : To avoid the removal of the underbrush in a thinly-stocked forest, as the 

 consequent drying of the ground, together with other resulting evils, would make it 

 difficult to establish a young growth. 



Ninth : In cutting and thinning with reference to the future species of timber it is 

 well to promote an admixture of conifers and broad-leaved trees. Experience has 

 demonstrated that mixed woods — which in our forests occur naturally — suffer less 



