90 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 



Slope. — There are many valuable trees on the slopes, though chestnut 

 and poplar will have the most certain future value. The object of man- 

 agement, therefore, should be to procure abundant reproduction of these 

 two species. In most cases chestnut can be reproduced adequately by 

 sprouts. This tree should always be cut in the winter or spring, and 

 never during the late summer and early fall. Poplar will reproduce by 

 sprouts from young trees, but older trees lose this power of sprouting. 

 Seedling reproduction, therefore, should be obtained wherever possible. 

 Poplar should be saved to the last in logging, so that the seeds may be 

 scattered over the area that has already been lumbered. By cutting the 

 chestnut and other species first, opportunity will be given the poplar to 

 seed and the chestnut to sprout. 



Red oak, white oak, and hickory are valuable and should be encour- 

 aged over such trees as black oak, black gum, and maple. Red oak is 

 probably the most valuable oak for the mountain slopes, as it grows 

 rapidly and makes a very fine quality of lumber. It reproduces chiefly 

 by seed, so that hogs should be excluded from the forest for some time 

 before and after lumbering. Seed trees of this species should be left 

 where there is not sufficient poplar and chestnut to thoroughly restock 

 the area. 



White oak, though slow growing, is of great value for barrel staves. 

 The seedlings of white oak require more light than those of red oak, 

 and may be secured effectively by leaving seed trees in fair sized openings 

 (100 to 200 feet in diameter). To secure seedlings of red oak the stand 

 should be left at about half density. 



Part of the Slope sub-type contains a considerable mixture of hem- 

 lock. In future forests this tree should not be allowed to form part 

 of the main stand (its crown at the same height as that of other trees), 

 but should be kept in the understory. It thrives in the shade, and if 

 kept under the main stand where its crown does not interfere with 

 other trees, it serves a useful purpose in keeping the forest floor in 

 good condition, and also in furnishing a little addition to the regular 

 forest crop. In general, lumbering operations where large openings are 

 made, and the bulk of the reproduction is to be from sprouts it will be 

 well to leave a few hemlock seed trees. Sprouts grow so rapidly at first 

 that they will be in no danger from the hemlock seedlings. These seed- 

 lings will endure under the shade of the sprouts and form a valuable 

 understory. 



Linn reproduces almost entirely by sprouts from stumps. Large 

 sprouts often form about the bases of mature trees. These sprouts 

 should be protected in lumbering as much as possible. Cattle should 



