LOGGING PRACTICE IN THE LAKE STATES 49 
erations, leave the tracts nearest to the mill and accessible to the 
means of transportation until they are toward the end of their 
operations. ‘These tracts may not be cut for another 25 or 30 years. 
Meanwhile there are taxes, protection, interest on the investment, 
and other carrying charges to pay. At present the net growth of 
these old stands is nil, the growth being offset by the natural decay. 
If these tracts were now cut over selectively, the bulk of the invest- 
ment could be removed and yet two-thirds of the stand be left in 
a good growing condition, producing from 125 to 200 board feet per 
acre per year. In 25 or 30 years, when these tracts would ordinarily 
be cut, their stands, would have again become fully as heavy as they 
are to-day, and the likelihood is that the timber would be of better 
uality. 
i here is another consideration in that these accessible tracts are 
surrounded here and there by settlers who are trying to make a 
living on the land. ‘These settlers would be engaged continuously 
in the selective logging of these accessible tracts, and their position 
would thereby be strengthened as permanent settlers and farmers. 
At present, there is a double waste. On the one hand, logging 
at the end of the logging road, miles away, is wasteful, and destruc- 
tive to the future of the forest. On the other, there is the waste 
caused by the loss of growth in the old stands accessible to transpor- 
tation and towns. This double form of waste could be greatly re- 
duced by the adoption of selective logging, as illustrated by the 
cutting at Marquette. 
Selective logging tends to maintain the output of a high-grade 
product, such as veneer and pin logs. This insures a high revenue 
and, since the trees of smaller size are left standing, reduces the 
logging cost. Most important of all, it leaves the forest in good 
growing condition. It is logging for a continuous supply of high- 
grade lumber, as against mere volume production. 
SLASH DISPOSAL 
Where the tops are utilized for chemical wood down to 3 inches, 
within three or four years the slash ceases to be a fire menace. Even 
where the tops are left in the woods, they need not be piled and 
burned, provided precautionary measures are taken to clean up the 
slash along highways, logging roads, and trails, and the logged-off 
area is patrolled carefully. In cleaning up the rights of way, trails, 
and highways, the following procedure is recommended: 
1. All slash and other inflammable débris should be burned when 
logging roads and railway spurs are cleared, the slash being carried 
to the middle of the cleared strip and burned as clearing progresses. 
The slash should never be thrown in windrows at the edge of the 
right of way, as is frequently done. After cutting has begun, all 
slash along the main logging railroad and spurs should be piled and 
burned for a distance of 50 to 100 feet on each side of the right of 
way. This should be done as cutting proceeds, or, if burning at that 
time is unsafe, the brush should be piled and burned after the first 
light snow the following fall. Piling is essential if a thorough burn 
is to be effected. 
