42 



SECOND-GROWTH HARDWOODS IK CONNECTICUT. 



can be judged with sufficient accuracy by inspection. If the crowns are 

 moderately full and occupy more than three-fourths of the available 

 space, and the trunks are of relatively good diameter and without 

 large branches, the stand may be considered normally stocked. Stands 

 in which the crowns occupy less than three-fourths of the growing 

 space, and in which the trunks are relatively short, thick, and limby, 

 are understocked; while in overstocked stands the crowns are small 

 or crowded, and the trunks slender. 



GROWTH OF STANDS. 



In connection with the growth of stands three questions must 

 usually be answered : First, what has been the average growth per 

 year from the establishment of the stand up to the present ; second, 

 how rapidly is it growing now, and is this rate slower or faster than 

 it has been or is likely to be ; and third, how do these rates of growth 

 in a stand of a given type and quality compare with those of stands 

 of the same age, but belonging to other types and quality classes ? 

 Answers to these questions, as determined for average, even-aged 

 hardwood stands in Connecticut, are given in Tables 30-33. The 

 figures in the columns headed " Average annual growth " are simply 

 the yields taken from the yield tables, divided by the age of the stand 

 in years. The " Periodic annual growth" is the average annual 

 growth for a given period (in this case five years). It therefore shows 

 the approximate rate at which a stand of a given type and quality 

 class will grow during any given period in its life, and is of great impor- 

 tance in determining the length of rotation. (See p. 48.) 



These tables bring out two facts of importance in the management 

 of even- aged stands. First, the rate both of the average annual and 

 the periodic annual growth varies with the age, the type, and the 

 quality class. It is most rapid in quality I chestnut and slowest in 

 quality III oak. Second, at a certain point in the life of a stand the 

 growth reaches a maximum and then falls off. The point of culmina- 

 tion of the average annual growth in lumber, ties, and poles for the 

 chestnut type does not come until after the seventy-fifth } T ear, and so 

 is not shown in the tables. 





Table 30. 



— Average 



annual growth per acre by quality c( 



asses- 



—ches 



tnut type. 





Age. 



Cubic feet. 



Cords. 



Board feet. 





Ties. 



Poles. 





































I. 



IL 



IIL 



I. 



II. 



III. 



I. 



II. 



III. 



I. 



II. 



III. 



I. 



II. 



III. 



Years. 































15 



72.7 



53.3 



34.7 



1.03 



0.80 



0.55 





















20 



83. 5 

 92.4 



61.3 



68.8 



39.3 

 45.6 



1.09 

 1.14 



.84 

 .89 



.58 

 .63 



15 

 56 



















•_>.') 







1.0 













30 



98.7 

 101.5 

 101.3 



99.8 



75.0 

 78.9 

 79.8 

 79.4 



51.7 

 56.4 

 58.4 

 58.7 



1.18 

 1.18 

 1.14 

 1.12 



.94 

 .95 

 .94 

 .92 



.68 

 .71 



.72 

 .70 



95 



146 

 205 



247 



30 

 60 

 93 



122 



"26* 

 45 

 64 



2.5 

 4.0 

 5.6 

 7.1 



0.7 

 1.6 

 2.5 

 3.3 



"a 6 



i.i 



1.7 



0.20 

 .37 

 .50 

 .67 



6.06 



.15 

 .24 





35 





40 





45 





50 



97.5 



77.7 



58.0 



1.08 



.88 



.69 



276 



152 



82 



8.7 



4.3 



2.2 



.82 



.36 



6.06 



55 



95.0 



75.9 



56.9 



1.04 



.85 



.66 



302 



180 



100 



10.3 



5.3 



2.6 



1.00 



.45 



.13 



CO 



92.2 



73.8 



00.0 



1.01 



.82 



.64 



322 



202 



115 



11.8 



6-1 



3.2 



1.18 



.55 



.20 



65 



S9.7 



71.8 



53.7 



.97 



.79 



.61 



334 



218 



129 



13.2 



6.8 



3.6 



1.39 



.65 



.26 



70 



87.1 



69.6 



51.9 



.94 



.76 



.58 



341 



231 



141 



13.9 



7.3 



4.0 



1.50 



.73 



.31 



75 



84.7 



67.6 



50.4 



.90 



.74 



.56 



343 



241 



153 



14.3 



7.7 



4.4 



1.56 



.79 



.35 



