shaft, clear of branches, on which at a later period the wood that makes valuable, clear timber, may accumulate. Form development is now most important. The lower branches are to die and break off before they become too large. (See illustrations of the progress of "clearing," on pp. 15 and 16.) With light-needing species and with deciduous trees generally this dying off is accomplished more easily than with conifers. The spruces and even the white pine require very dense shading to "clear" the shaft. During this period it is only necessary to weed out the undesirable kinds, such as trees infested by insect and fungus, shrubs, sickly, stunted, or bushy trees which are apt to overtop and prevent the development of their better neighbors. In short, our attention is now devoted mainly to improving the composition of the crop. [3] If the crop does not, at 3 to 5 years of age, shade the ground well, with a complete crown cover, or canopy, it can not be said to be well established and should be filled out by planting. WEEDING AND CLEANING THE CROP. This weeding or cleaning is easily done with shears when the crop is from 3 to 5 years old. Later, mere cutting back of the undesirable trees with a knife or hatchet maybe practiced. In well-made artificial plantations this weeding is rarely needed until about the eighth or tenth year. But in natural growths the young crop is sometimes so dense as to inordinately interfere with the development of the individual trees. The stems then remain so slender that there is danger of their being bent or broken by storm or snow when the growth is thinned out later. In such cases timely thinning is indicated to stimulate more rapid development of the rest of the crop. This can be done most cheaply by cutting swaths or lanes one yard wide and us far apart through the crop, leaving strips standing. The outer trees of the strip, at least, will then shoot ahead and become the main crop. These weeding or improvement cuttings, which must be made gradually and be repeated every two or three years, are best performed during the summer months, or in August and September, when it is easy to judge what should be taken out. METHODS OF THINNING.