58 



Mississippi's forest resources and industries 



Figure 50. — Fair cutting 

 practice. Given fire pro- 

 tection, there will be no 

 decline in the species com- 

 position of trees or the 

 percentage of stocking 10 

 years after cutting as com- 

 pared with the stand before 

 cutting. 



preliminary classifications made by county officials on 

 the basis of their personal knowledge), and second, by 

 selecting a number of owners from each class so as to 

 obtain optimum allocation of the sample to owner- 

 occupation classes. Once the number of owners in 

 each class to be sampled was determined, specific 

 owners were chosen at random. 



Management practices were inspected on the 

 ground, usually after the owner was interviewed. In 

 this inspection, the whole forest property was con- 

 sidered, not merely the portion within sample-unit 

 boundaries. Management was rated on the basis of 



cutting practices (including related silvicultural meas- 

 ures) and fire protection — with the modification that 

 in south Mississippi grazing damage to tree seedlings 

 and saplings was evaluated along with fire damage. 



On each property sampled the most recent cutting 

 within the last 10-year period was appraised. The 

 general principle was to judge whether this cutting 

 (together with silvicultural measures accompanying 

 it) would improve the stand, maintain it, or cause 

 deterioration. The emphasis was not on the stand that 

 was left, but on the anticipated changes in stocking and 

 species composition of the growing stock (including 



