114 BULLETIN 1105, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



it is only in occasional spots that conditions are such as to permit the 

 establishment of seedlings. One of the greatest difficulties of the 

 method is that it can not be properly controlled. 



Lopping, as practiced in connection with pulling, creates variable 

 conditions which can best be described as intermediate between pull- 

 ing and scattering. It is subject to the same lack of control and has 

 practically all the other disadvantages of pulling. 



In scattering it is possible to secure much more uniform conditions 

 than in pulling and lopping. Since almost every branch must be 

 handled in scattering, the density and distribution can be so regu- 

 lated as to permit access by grazing animals, thus preventing a rank 

 growth of grass and weeds. Observations indicate that the best re- 

 sults can be secured by placing the brush in small, dense patches two 

 or three branches deep, separated by open spaces from 2 to 3 feet 

 wide. The dense mat of brush will kill out the grass directly under- 

 neath it, and the luxuriant growth in the edges can be kept down by 

 cattle grazing. Few seedlings will gain a foothold directly in the 

 patches of brush, but some will become established in the edges, where 

 they will benefit from the surplus moisture conserved underneath the 

 brush. All available information indicates that if the above prin- 

 ciples are applied this method will give better reproduction than 

 pulling or lopping. Scattering is not recommended for bunch-grass 

 lands, however, unless there is absolute assurance of proper coordi- 

 nation with grazing. 



Disposal of brush where reproduction is established before cut- 

 ting. — One condition which has not been considered in the foregoing 

 discussion is that in which reproduction has taken place in advance 

 of cutting. Under such circumstances the brush should, as a rule, 

 be piled and burned as a precaution against fire. Exceptions may 

 occur on slopes subject to severe erosion. Under these circumstances 

 brush should be piled without burning, pulled, or scattered in roads, 

 skidder trails, and other places where needed to check erosion. Until 

 recently some apprehension has been felt as to the possibility of burn- 

 ing without excessive damage in dense reproduction. Experience 

 during the past year indicates that, although great care must be 

 exercised, it is usually possible to burn with comparatively little 

 damage. 



If advance reproduction is below a foot in height, many seedlings 

 are likely to be entirely covered with brush. Instances have been 

 observed in which fully 75 per cent were killed on spots where brush 

 was scattered. Pulling tops and lopping are even more disastrous on 

 the immediate patches occupied. 



