FORESTRY FOR 4-H CLUBS 11 



Guides to study. — ^The life of a tree and why it is necessary to know something 

 about how trees Hve. 



The leaves, trunk, and roots, and function of each in the tree's existence. How 

 the tree breathes and gets its food from the soil and air; what travels upward and 

 what downward in the branches and stems. Structure of the leaf and different 

 parts of the trunk. 



How the branches lengthen and the tree trunk increases in diameter; the 

 location, color, and structure of the living tissue or cambium layer. What are 

 annual rings, heartwood, and sapwood? 



Requirements for growth: Air, light, moisture, heat, and food. How to find 

 the age of trees by counting the annual rings (fig. 6). 



Trees in association — a stand. Influence of trees upon each other. Difference, 

 if any, between shape of crowns of open-grown trees and those grown in closed 

 stands. Influence of different light and soil-moisture supply. 



Effect of tree density (number of trees in a given area) upon growth of the 

 individual tree. Natural death of trees in closed stands with advancing age. 

 Understocked, well-stocked, and overstocked stands and the production of (a) 

 saw timber and (b) cordwood per acre under each condition. 



Practical things to do. — Make the following tests to show requirements for 

 growth: Place a potted forest-tree seedling in the dark for a few days; withdraw 

 moisture from one and supply moderate amounts ot moisture and excess moisture 

 to other seedlings; subject plants, if possible, to different degrees of heat. Note 

 results. Erect a pole or 1- by 2-inch timber strip close beside a young, thrifty 

 sapling pine or hardwood. At regular intervals of a week or month, mark on 

 it the total height of the growing tree. Keep a record also of the dates and 

 measured heights. 



Forest Reproduction 



Aim. — To find out how trees reproduce themselves. 



Sources of information.— ¥2iTmtrs Bulletin 1989; Miscellaneous Publication 162. 



Illustrative material. — Make a collection of seed specimens of the kmds indi- 

 cated under Guides to Study. Mount these seeds on cardboard or put them in 

 wide-mouthed bottles. Clip pictures of young forest growth. 



Guides to study. — Seeds: Learn the various devices of nature for dispersing the 

 seed widely. Tree fruits (a) with wings, plumes, etc.; (b) pulpy fruits with hard 

 seeds sought by birds; (c) rich nut kernels liked by rodents and birds, and often 

 buried or otherwise stored away; (d) light seeds which float on the surface or 

 heavy seeds which roll along the bottom of streams. Species of trees whose 

 seeds are carried by (a) wind (fig. 7), (b) water, or (c) birds and animals (fig. 8). 



Sprouts: Different species of trees which reproduce themselves by means of 

 sprouts from stumps. From what part or parts of the stump do sprouts arise .^ 

 Species which sprout from surface or lateral roots. Influence of the season of 

 the year when cutting is done upon the vigor and growth of sprouts. Influence 

 of age of parent tree upon success of sprounting. 



Natural forest reproduction: Young growth (figs. 9 and 10). Conditions 

 under which young growth starts in woodlands. A forest without young growth 

 is like a community without children — it will die out. Need for large numbers 

 of young trees for perpetuation of the forest. Competition and shading out of 

 the weaker seedlings and saplings. 



Age groups of young growth: {a) Seedling, ij?) small sapling, ic) large sapling, 

 {d) small pole. 



