LONGLEAF PINE 39 
lowing operations, depending on the severity of the bleeding of the 
tree. Locally near the face, growth takes place rapidly on account 
of an apparent effort of the tree to heal the wound, making very 
favorable conditions of the wood for later working. Additional in- 
formation on this particular phase of growth is much needed. 
CUTTING 
Thrifty, well-stocked stands of longleaf soon become overcrowded, 
and a great competition arises among the trees, the foliage seeking 
for light and the roots for soil moisture. This should be closely 
looked after by the owner. Longleaf does not readily thin itself 
by the natural dying-out process, but many of the smaller trees may 
live years in a practically dormant condition. The stronger trees 
gradually crowd and kill the weaker individuals. If such timber 
is left unthinned, big losses may be expected in the potential timber- 
producing power of the stand. 
With some kinds of trees and forests it is more profitable if the 
largest trees are cut and the smaller ones are allowed to grow and 
take the places of those that have been cut. This system, however, is 
not generally to be recommended for longleaf pine. The method of 
cutting believed to be most applicable to longleaf consists in thin- 
ning from the bottom upward — that is, in removing first the less 
thrifty, overtopped, diseased, and unpromising trees. In crowded 
groups good-sized trees should sometimes be removed. The cooler 
part of the year affords the only season that is safe against danger- 
ous insect menace following cutting operations. (See under " Insects, 
Diseases, and Wind," p. 42.) Such thinnings should be made as 
needed, usually at intervals of 5 to 10 years, each helping in the de- 
velopment of the final stand. The purpose of thinning is very much 
the same as that of the farmer in chopping his cotton or corn, namely, 
to give the remaining plants proper growing space and to secure 
the largest amount of the desired product. Trees growing wide 
apart in understocked stands may not need more than one thinning 
or they may not need any. If young longleaf stands contain unde- 
sirable kinds of trees, such as slow-growing, wide-spreading gums 
or oaks, which shade out a lot of pines and promise less valuable tim- 
ber, these should be cut out much as weeds are eradicated from fields. 
This process, known as cleaning, may not be necessary more than 
once. The last thinning is followed, at a suitable age and develop- 
ment of the trees, by a clean cutting of the stand. The clean-cutting 
method is recommended for longleaf, because this species grows 
naturally, and probably best, in pure stands or mixed with small 
amounts of other pines. Longleaf, apparently, grows fastest into 
timber when it comes up uniformly over the land and is kept at uni- 
form heights, for it is a species that needs an abundance of light, and 
hence must not be shaded by taller tres. 
The desired number of trees per acre for a given stand is deter- 
mined largely by the quality of the locality or the favorableness of 
the situation and by the size and age of the trees. It is, after all, 
more a matter of judgment and experience than of rule. (See Table 
1.) In the earlier thinnings, when the stand is about 20 years old, 
sometimes as many as one-fifth to one-third of the trees should be 
