26 BULLETIN 1494, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
TREATMENT OF DEFECTIVE HEMLOCK AND WHITH FIR 
In-overmature forests it frequently happens that all or nearly all. 
of the hemlock and white fir in mixture with white pine is defective 
and unmerchantable, and if left uncut will shade the ground com- 
pletely and preclude all possibility of obtaining white pine reproduc- 
tion. Such conditions are more frequent on the national forests than 
on the general run of private holdings. 
The only way to produce a new timber crop on such an area is to 
dispose of the defective timber. The usual practice will be a com- 
bination of girdling and felling, together with piling and burning of 
brush. ‘This ordinarily involves felling all the small low-crowned 
trees up to a diameter of 10 to 14 inches and girdling the larger trees. 
If there are more than 12 large trees to the acre to be disposed of, 
those in excess should ordinarily be felled and the brush piled and 
burned, since the girdling of too many trees would create an excessive 
fire hazard. On southerly slopes and dry flats, however, where some 
degree of shade is desirable, up tc 20 or 30 trees an acre may be left. 
oe close to roads or trails should not be girdled because of the fire 
risk. 
The cost of girdling is about 5 cents a tree. The cost of felling 
and piling and burning the slash is about $1.80 per thouSand feet 
gross scale of the defective timber. The whole operation of cleaning 
up defective white fir and hemlock may range from a negligible 
amount to $30 an acre. 
If the quantity of defective hemlock is extremely large it may in 
some cases be preferable to fell all standing trees after logging is 
completed and broadcast burn the slash. This procedure may neces- 
sitate planting to reestablish a stand. 
In timber operations in the national forests defective hemlock is 
commonly disposed of by one of the above-described methods. The 
practice involves a large expenditure per acre, but, in view of the 
fact that areas containing heavy stands of hemlock are usually the 
most highly productive white pine sites, it is desirable, from the 
point of view of public policy, to reestablish a timber crop, even 
though only a small rate of return on the investment can be shown. 
It is doubtful whether for the average private owner the cost of 
disposing of defective hemlock and white fir could be justified by the 
returns. The most extreme defective-hemlock conditions are not 
found as frequently on private as on public holdings, and those por- 
tions on which heavy stands of defective timber are left after logging 
do not usually offer a promising field for timber growing. Under 
most circumstances it would not be advisable for the private owner 
to try to do much with such areas. 
SELECTIVE CUTTING IN UNEVEN-AGED STANDS 
Although the western white pine type is typically even-aged, there 
are in some localities considerable areas where the stand is uneven-- 
aged or, more commonly, two-aged. ‘This condition has usually 
resulted from a light fire at some time running through the stand 
and killing part of the trees, so that a younger age class has came 
in under the surviving trees. Under such conditions there is an 
opportunity to harvest the older timber now and leave the basis 
