Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-04-18
Grow Timber
As Other Crops

Prof. John III. Briscoe, head of the
department Of forestry at the Uni
| versity Of Maine, in a bulletin issued
Saturday, declared that the day Of
acquiring new stumpage at a rea-
sonable price is past, the private
owner must now grow timber just as
/ other crops are grown, and as it is
a long time crop, the sooner a be-
ginning is made, the better.
"All methods of securing repro
! duction by means of natural regen-
, GRAFTON pre-supposes the existence
| of a mature stand of the desired
/ species, or at least seed trees Of that
species" said Prof, Briscoe.
| Where these are absent planting
must be resorted to-" continued Prof.
Briscoe.
las to which Of these two meth
| DDS of reforesting is the more de-
| sirable will depend on a number of
local circumstances in each particu-
lar case. The most important of
! these are the soil the site and the
economic conditions in the locality
where the reforesting is to be done.
With the present price Of seed.
allowing not less than 10 pounds per
acre, as a minimum requirement, the
original cost of the seed alone would
I be more than that of planting.
Even if planting costs more in
the beginning, many arguments may
be advanced in it's favor The results
are surer and the stand is estab-
i;-1,
regeneration is a slow process, re-
quiring a period of years, usually 10
or more, to be successfully accom-
plished.
Furthermore, in planting, the dis
tances between the trees are equal
from the start giving all the trees in
the plantation an equal chance, while
in the natural method the seedlings
are usually more or less scattered in
patches or groups which may be very
thick in some places but of unequal
distribution over the area. The
equal spacing established by planting
gives equal root and crown space for
the development of >the small trees
and makes all of the further opera
tons in the management of the stand
much easier.
plantations should be started
from nursery grown stock rather
than from seed sown on the area.
/ Direct seeding is expensive and is
usually not very successful here.
Never plant the cones. Very often
! they have no fertile seeds left in
them and if they have it is a waste
! full method. Where only a few hun
dred plants are needed, it is usually
cheaper and always easier to buy
! them from q nurseryman than 20
! raise them.
: Wild stock received a severe set
back in transplanting. and the cost
-. OF digging it up is often as great as
: the cost of the nursery stock.
| Nursery trees should be used
wherever possible in reforesting.
! They withstand transplanting, even
benefit il; they are cheap in proper
ton to the results that may ne eX-
! pected; they have been raised with
especial care as to root and crown
| development. aI general health:
they are obtainable at the hest age
and period in the growth of the tree,
! for adapting themselves to the site
! and making good growth: and the
plants being of uniform age and size,
/ the resulting stand is most ad-
vanta geously handled.
THE experience of the United
States Forest Service and of opera
tors everywhere has shown con-
clusively that planting well grown
stock is the most advisable method
of reforestine, and that, properly
done. the percentage of failure should
not be more than 10 per cent, but
nearer three per cent to five per cent
of the trees set out"