FOREST MANAGEMENT OF LOBLOLLY PINE. 33 
Work Following Cutting. 
The work following cutting consists in preparing the area for the 
reception of the seed. Frequently no work at all will be necessary. 
The work which may have to be done to insure reproduction 
includes: (1) Brush disposal, which also serves as a fire protective 
measure and lessens danger from insect infestations; (2) disturbance 
or destruction of the forest floor, including the leaf litter and unde- 
composed humus; (3) destruction of ground cover and underbrush 
including hardwood saplings; (4) cutting of worthless trees still 
standing, which, preferably, should have been removed at the time 
of the main cutting. The amount of work to be done varies with the 
character of the site, whether wet or dry; with the condition of the 
forest floor; and with the amount and character of the ground cover 
and underbrush. 
On moist to wet sites no work at all is usually necessary, except 
where there is considerable underbrush or worthless trees which it 
is best to cut out. The growth of loblolly-pine seedlings on such 
sites is hindered little or not at all by the forest floor, ground cover, 
and brush left after lumbering. A fire, however, to destroy all under- 
growth and brush, is rather beneficial than otherwise on such sites- 
On fresh to dry sites destruction of the forest floor, ground cover, 
and brush is advisable and often necessary to insure reproduction. 
The best method is to burn it. Disturbance of the forest floor during 
logging operations will also improve conditions for reproduction. 
In burning, care should be taken not to damage trees left for seed 
or woods adjacent to the area cut. 
The time for preparing the seedbed should be governed by the 
occurrence of adequate seed production, preferably at the same 
time as the cutting if the two coincide; otherwise not until there is 
a good seed year. 
Where the ground is in satisfactory condition for the reproduction 
of the seed and there are sufficient seed trees, adequate reproduction 
can be expected by the end of the first or second season after a good 
seed year. 
The cost of these rough methods of preparing the ground for the 
reception of the seed should in no case exceed $3 per acre, and is 
uniformly cheaper than reforesting artificially. 
REFORESTING BY ARTIFICIAL REPRODUCTION. 
Where natural reproduction fails it is always possible to secure 
fully-stocked stands of loblolly pine by resorting to artificial repro- 
duction. This can be done more easily and at less expense for this 
species than for most if not for any other species of pines in the 
eastern United States. 
