neglect shrubs in the interior of the woodland. His opportunity to 

 improve conditions for wildlife lies in maintaining a shrub border at 

 the woodland's edge and a few den trees in the interior. 



Arrangement and Treatment of a Wildlife Border 



Wildlife borders should include both herbaceous plants and shrubs. 

 The herbaceous strip, 15 to 20 feet wide, is managed by mowing or 

 plowing at intervals to keep the shrubs away from the crop. This 

 strip also provides herbaceous foods for wildlife in an area that is 

 needed both as a turnrow for work stock and as an outlet to handle 

 excess water draining from the ends of contour rows. Lespedeza 

 sericea, a perennial legume, is best adapted to this use because its 

 deep root system permits it to withstand the competition of shrubs 

 and trees. It is also exceptionally tolerant to shade. For details of 

 the establishment and care of herbaceous strips, see United States 

 Department of Agriculture Leaflet 168, Protecting Field Borders. 



The shrub border, about 20 feet wide, extends from the base of the 

 trees to the herbaceous strip. In this border it is desirable to encour- 

 age shrubs such as dogwoods, sumacs, plums, blackberries, haws, and 

 huckleberries, and vines such as grape and Virginia creeper. Pines, 

 oaks, gums, poplars, maples, and hickories should be kept out. In 

 the half of the shrub strip next to the woods, small food-producing 

 trees such as red cedar, persimmon, and black cherry can be left. 

 Trees that appear in the border before it becomes established are best 

 removed while they are saplings (fig. 3, A, B), for then a single stroke 

 of the ax will take them out. 



Once established, a permanent shrub border needs little attention 

 since shrubs then have the whole available supply of sunlight, plant 

 food, and soil moisture and will therefore be vigorous enough to 

 check nearly all reproduction of trees. 



The herbaceous strip of the wildlife border is usually planted on the 

 cultivated land to avoid the interference of shrubs during its establish- 

 ment. The shrub strip can be developed by cutting trees from the edge 

 of the woodland or by retiring from the field a strip wide enough for 

 both the herbaceous and shrub borders. Whether it shall be taken 

 from the field or the woodland is a question to be decided according 

 to conditions at the site. 



If there is an abrupt change in slope between the cropland and 

 woodland, the herbaceous part of the wildlife border is planted on the 

 less steep slope along the edge of the cropland, and shrubs are put on 

 the steeper, wooded slope. In other words, the line between the two 

 parts of the wildlife border follows the line between the two slopes — 

 and it is frequently an exact contour. 



Unless a stand of trees consists of only a few trees of inferior quality, 

 it should never be removed to make room for a shrub border, nor 

 should trees be removed if there is a shortage of woodland on the farm 

 and ample open land to accommodate both the shrub and herbaceous 

 borders. 



If the shrub border is established in the edge of the woodland, only 

 the trees should be cut out. The shrubs should be left. The limbs 

 of pines that are cut should be used for mulch to cover eroded spots 

 on the field border or other galled areas on which it is difficult to estab- 

 lish vegetation. Detailed information about mulching is given in 



