10 



2:»revent, in many instances, a sudden deterioration of the forest 

 after logging. Such deterioration is, however, general, and while the 

 indications of it, following any single cutting, may be slight, it is 

 cumulative, and the seedlings of the less valuable species, which are 

 not cut, such as beech, maple, black oak, sourwood, sassafras, and 

 gum, tend, after each cutting, to form a larger proportion of the 

 second growth. 



Management of second-growth land in the region must primarily 

 aim to secure a dense stand of the more valuable species. The first 

 step is to lengthen the intervals between cuttings. Observations of the 

 timberlands throughout the region show that forest areas that were 

 heavily and thoroughly cut over once and have since been undis- 

 turbed are, as a rule, now covered with a uniformly dense and vig- 

 orous second growth, frequently 1,G00 trees to the acre, while timber- 

 lands which vrere frequently cut over, even though slightly, have a 

 poor stand of second growth, consisting of irregular groups of sap- 

 lings, which frequently average not more than 275 trees to the acre. 

 It is evident, then, that the interval between cuttings should be suffi- 

 cientl}' lengthened to permit the development of young growth until 

 it is too large to be injured! 



Just what the interval should be to obtain satisfactory results 

 must depend not only on the species which are being cut, but on the 

 use for which they are cut as well. Second growth may include tim- 

 berland that has been only slightly culled, timberland that has been 

 frequently and heavily cut, and, finall}^, coaled-off land. 



The timber in a considerable portion of the forest area in the region, 

 on account of its remoteness from transportation (10 to 50 miles), 

 could not be handled profitabh^ for sawlogs of smaller size than 18 

 inches on the stump. Cutting to such a diameter limit leaves, as a 

 rule, a good stand of polewood, which forms the .basis of the second 

 crop. Thus, on a tract of cove land in Perry Count3% Tenn., which 

 Vvas recently logged to a diameter of 18 inches on the stump, the 

 remaining stand of young timber, from 3 to 17 inches in diameter, 

 averaged 80 trees per acre, 31 per cent of which were white oak. It 

 is evident that much of this remaining stand will be merchantable 

 twenty- five years from now, and a second cut of white oak, poplar, 

 and chestnut lumber can be made. Meanwhile, the seed-bearing trees 

 left under this comparatively high diameter limit vv^ll keep the 

 ground well stocked with young growth, so that at each cutting the 

 next crop will already be well established. Follovv^ing the same cut- 

 ting limit in the future, the forest can be permanently utilized vnth- 

 out depleting it in the least. 



Timberland more severely or repeatedlj^ cut may require from 

 thirty-five to forty years from the time of the last cut before it will 



[Cir. lis.] 



