54 SECOND-GROWTH HARDWOODS IX CONNECTICUT. 



The example cited shows that good results may be obtained from 

 a system of thinning in which, instead of removing the small trees, 

 the largest ones in the stand are taken. This method of cutting 

 lends itself to stands in which there is a market for only the larger 

 trees. Unless very carefully used, however, it is very likely to 

 result in a distinct decrease in the ultimate productivity of an area. 

 The danger of overcutting is great, while the removal of the dominant 

 trees is sure to damage more or less the intermediate and overtopped 

 ones. 



FINAL CUTTING AND REPRODUCTION. 



On land which is to be devoted permanently to forest the final 

 cutting should be considered only an intermediate step in a con- 

 tinuous process. The principles which determine when the final 

 cutting should be made have already been discussed under "Rota- 

 tion." There remain to be considered the best methods of cutting 

 to secure abundant reproduction of desirable species, and means of 

 renewing the vigor of sprout stands. 



CLEAR-CUTTING SYSTEM. 



The common practice in Connecticut of cutting hardwood stands 

 clear is in a majority of cases the best that could be adopted. It is 

 relatively cheap and simple, and when done at the right time, is 

 followed at once by satisfactory reproduction. 



The chief incentive to clear cutting in Connecticut has been the 

 fact that it is usually possible to market the entire yield of the stand, 

 if not in certain kinds of material, then in other kinds. "Whether or 

 not this can be done really determines the practicability of clear 

 cutting, and should always be ascertained beforehand. Few wood- 

 lands in Connecticut are so far from market that poles, ties, or lumber 

 have no stump age value, and even in the case of remote stands there 

 is often a local market which yields a slight profit on the posts, rails, 

 and cordwood left after logging. Where length of haul prohibits 

 the disposal of cordwood, charcoal may yet be burned to complete 

 the utilization of the stand. If it is impossible to dispose of cord- 

 wood or other minor products, cutting can not, of course, be prac- 

 ticed, and the method described on pages 52-54 (Table 37) may be 

 adopted. 



If it is planned to reproduce the stand by sprouts, the season of the 

 year in which the final cutting is made is of great importance. Cut- 

 ting should always be done during the season of "vegetative rest," 

 from late fall to early spring. Cuttings made during this time of the 

 year are far more likely to result in good stands than if made during 

 the "vegetative season" — late spring and summer — after the nour- 



