58 SECOND-GROWTH HARDWOODS IN CONNECTICUT. 



solution of strychnine. This can be done with little danger to 

 stock or birds if the deposits are left in tile drain tubes, in small 

 covered boxes, under bowlders, etc. 1 



PROTECTION. 



Protection from fire is obviously essential to the success of 

 management. Even light surface fires, if repeated, scar the bases 

 of the trees, permitting the entrance of decay-producing fungi. In 

 addition, they destroy the surface layer of humus, which acts as a 

 mulch against the evaporation of moisture and contains valuable 

 food materials for the stand. Danger from fire may be greatly 

 reduced by preventing the accumulations of inflammable debris, 

 as described on page 55. A dangerous practice is that of piling 

 brush, cut from the edges of public highways, along the borders of 

 woodlands, where it dries out and is easily ignited. Contrary to 

 a common belief, the presence of living underbrush of the usual 

 kinds is not a serious menace. The best protection from fire lies 

 in the hearty cooperation of towns and landowners in enforcing 

 the State fire laws. 



Measures for the prevention and control of forest fires are discussed 

 in Bulletin 6 of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, 

 which may be obtained on application to the State forester. 



FINANCIAL RETURNS. 



Since management will involve different expenses and returns 

 in different localities and kinds of stands, only a brief summary of the 

 more general items which must be taken into account will be given. 



Every expense in management must be warranted by either an 

 immediate or a later financial return, and all operations must not 

 only pay for themselves but must also yield a profit on the invest- 

 ment. In the case of thinnings the "orofit may be both direct, on the 

 material removed, and indirect, in increased growth of the trees left. 

 If the direct return from material removed in thinning is insufficient 

 entirely to pay the expense, the difference is almost certain to be 

 more than made up by the increased value of the trees left. Thin- 

 nings should therefore involve the least expense compatible with the 

 best growth of the stand. The removal of underbrush and valueless 

 dead trees is a needless expense without any compensating return 

 either in money or, in most cases, advantage to the stand. 



Final cutting is, of course, the most remunerative operation, but 

 to secure the most desirable reproduction, as previously described, it 

 must often be done in a way to sacrifice immediate financial returns. 



1 This subject is discussed at length in Circular 78 of the Biological Survey, "Seed-eating Mammals In 

 Relation to Reforestation," by Ned Dearborn, and in Forest Service Bulletin 98. "Reforestation on the 

 National Forests," by W. T. Cox. 



