74 



PRACTICAL FORESTRY. 



this case the young trees should be cut at a season whe] 

 the bark will adhere the most firmly, that is late fall o: 

 early winter, although they may be cut in summer, be^ 

 cause the hickories usually finish their growth quite earlj 

 in the season, but the wood is likely to be more brittk 

 if the poles are cut early or when in full leaf than later. 



Coniferae trees from which it is desirable to strip the 

 bark should be cut during the growing season in early 

 summer, and if rapid seasoning is desired without re-j 

 moyal of bark, the trees should be merely felled and' 

 allowed to remain with all their branches attached until l 

 the leaves fall off. 



We may haye other objects in yiew besides the yalue 

 of the timber taken, such as a second growth to be pro- 

 duced from the stumps, when this is desired the trees 

 should be felled at a season most favorable to the roots. \ 

 If the trees are cut late in the fall or winter, the roots and 

 stumps will throw up sprouts far more readily than if 

 the trees were cut in summer when growing the most 

 rapidly. In fact, late summer is the proper time to cut 

 trees and shrubs if we desire to kill the roots. It would not 

 be possible to name the exact time best for the purpose, 

 because not only do seasons vary but the right time in 

 New York State would be too late for Virginia and those 

 further South, neither is the same time best in all years. 

 I have seen acres of willows killed out completely by a 

 single cutting of their tops, and the next season another 

 lot was cut off during the same days of the same month, 

 the roots of which were but little injured and threw up 

 sprouts in great abundance the following season. The 

 weather at the time of cutting the willows, no doubt, 

 had some influence in producing the difference in the 

 results noted. 



In ancient times, and, in fact, in modern, many per- 

 sons have believed the moon has some mysterious influ- 

 ence upon ihe growth of animals and plants inhabiting 



