66 THE BOOK OF FORESTRY 
for them to thrive, so that a second thinning is neces- 
sary four to five years later. Subsequent thinnings are 
made from time to time, depending upon the needs of 
the seedlings beneath, until the last of the old parent 
trees are removed and the young stand of timber beneath 
is exposed to the full sunlight. This method of repro- 
ducing a stand by cuttings is known as the “stand 
method,” or the “method of successive thinnings,” and 
is especially to be commended in regions where the 
forests cannot be clear cut or with heavy-seeded species. 
Where light-seeded species form the forest, strips two 
hundred to three hundred feet wide may be cut across 
the direction of the prevailing wind, and then the un- 
touched strip of forest on the side will scatter seed upon 
the open area and gradually cover it with a dense crop 
of young seedlings. Or if the trees are especially wind 
firm, the entire forest may be clear cut, leaving five to 
ten trees per acre, and from these trees seed will be 
scattered that will start the second generation upon the 
cleared land. 
Another type of starting forest growth called cop- 
picing is practiced with species which have the prop- 
erty of sprouting from the root collar. Chestnut, maple, 
ash, oak, basswood, all yield readily to this type 
of treatment, and if cut young enough a dense thicket 
of sprouts will spring uy which matures rapidly and 
produces a splendid crop of timber. This type of man- 
agement, however, should not be used too many times 
in succession, as the vitality of the stand becomes low- 
ered by repeated coppicings and the soil becomes ex- 
hausted from too frequent exposure to the intense rays 
of the sun. 
The statement is often made that far better lumber 
can be produced by cutting off the lower branches of 
