FORESTKY FOR SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND. 19 



great distances. The burning of the ground after cutting would insure 

 reproduction of Poplar if seed trees were at hand. 



These clear cutting methods might sometimes be used to advantage 

 in handling Black Ash and Soft Maple in swamps, in place of the 

 more common Sprout Method. 



MARKING FOR CUTTINGS. 



In making thinnings it is necessar}^ to mark the trees which are to 



be cut, as a guide for the choppers. Where the work is done by 



trustworthy choppers, a simple blaze on the trunk is all that is neces- 



! sary. When the cutting is done b}^ contract, it is always a temptation 



I for the choppers to cut an occasional tree which is not marked, if it 



I is easy to split and near a stack. To avoid this, without constant 



I watching, a special mark ma}^ be made on the butt of each tree which 



! will show after cutting whether it was marked or not. The best tool 



j for this work is a shingle hatchet with a raised letter or other mark 



on the head. The blaze, made close to the ground, can be stamped with 



this mark. It is always a good plan to blaze the trunks in addition, so 



that the choppers can see the marked trees at a glance. 



The most rapid and convenient way to mark the trees is for two or 

 three men to work together and to pass back and forth over the tract, 

 marking the trees in strips 20 to 25 yards wide. AVith wider strips 

 or more men together the marking is less accurate, because there is 

 greater chance of overlooking trees which ought to be cut. If two 

 men work together, trees for improvement cuttings can be marked at 

 the rate of 4 to 6 acres per day. 



PLANTING. 



On most farms and country estates there are open areas of more or 

 less useless land, such as worn-out fields and pastures, undesirable either 

 for crops or forage. Brush gradually creeps over them, and they grow 

 up to a stand of trees of irregular age and poor quality. They have 

 a ver}^ low value as woodland, because the majority of the trees are 

 usually Birch, Poplar, Cedar, or some other poor species, and such 

 good kinds as do occur generally have sprawling crowns and short, 

 knotty trunks. It often takes from ten to twenty years for trees to 

 get fairl}" started on these lands and from fifteen to twenty years 

 more before they take full possession. The first crop is rareh^ of much 

 value. It is not until the second generation of trees that a good stand 

 of valuable species and individuals is established, and often not until 

 the third and fourth generation. 



It is a simple and comparatively inexpensive undertaking to plant 

 up such areas in the beginning, and so save the time now lost in wait- 

 ing for a valuable self-planted crop. The owner will not get any 

 immediate return from the trees he plants, but his land is no longer 



