The Rural Voice, 2001-01, Page 48BERNIE McGLYNN
LUMBER LTD.
BUYER OF HARDWOOD BUSHLOTS
Wholesaler - Hardwood Lumber
Box 385. R.R. 2,
Wingham, Ont. NOG 2W0
BERNIE McGLYNN
Ph/Fax (519) 357.1430
SAWMILL -
Ph/Fax (519) 357.3777
(519) 367.5789
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wP6UQINs
Tree Marking
Woodlot Assessments
Management Plans
Aggregates
1-888-923-9995
Serving Ontario
DAVID E. GREIN
LOGGING
Buyer of Standing
& Felled Hardwood Timber
& Bush Lots
• Competitive Pricing
• Quality Workmanship
• 20 Years Experience
R.R.#1 Neustadt (519) 799-5997
Andrew Grindlay
Pruning for profit
Balsam fir, white pine, white
spruce and Eastern hemlock are poor
natural pruners. If they are shaded by
other trees, their branches die but
tend to cling for years. Since balsam,
spruce and hemlock are used
primarily for framing in construction
or for pulp and do not fetch a much
better price if they have been pruned,
there is little point to pruning them.
But the value of white pine can be
increased significantly by cutting off
both live and dead branches. Before
doing any pruning, however, a
thinning cut should be done and the
crop trees identified. Only the crop
trees, that is, the 150 or so trees per
acre that are to be nurtured to
produce high-quality logs at
maturity, need then be pruned.
• The lower live branches of a tree
in a woodlot usually get little light
and therefore do not contribute much
to the growth of the tree. They use
almost all the energy they produce in
their leaves just to maintain
themselves and can be removed with
no damage to the tree. If a dead
brai,ch is left on a white pine, the tree
will grow outward around the dead
branch, creating a long knot inside
the tree that reduces the value of the
log substantially.
Beech, ash, maple, cherry, oak,
tamarack, black spruce and red pine
that have been shaded by surrounding
trees tend to lose their branches. If
they have not been shaded and not
trimmed off, the branches will
continue growing for the life of the
tree.
Black walnut is in a class by itself.
It has a low tolerance for shade and is
therefore rarely found in a naturally -
regenerated woodlot. If it is, because
of the lack of light it probably has
few lower branches. If it has been
planted in a plantation, however, the
spacing is unlikely to be close enough
for the lower branches to have been
shaded and artificial pruning becomes
necessary to produce high-quality
logs. Walnuts also tend to need help
in ensuring that there is a single
leader.
Trees along the border of a
woodlot should not be pruned, points
out Marvin Smith, Farm Woodland
By Andres Grindlay
Winter is the best time of year to
prune trees in the farm woodlot. The
colder the weather, the less likely air-
borne fungi and insects will be flying
around ready to enter pruning
wounds.
As well, in
cold weather, the
bark tends to be
harder and less
apt to tear when a
branch is lopped
off. Since callus
growth — the
growth of woody
material over a
wound — occurs
primarily during
May, June and
July, wounds
made prior to
May close
rapidly; those
made after July close little until the
following May.
All trees being grown for lumber
or veneer benefit from pruning, either
naturally or artificially, but some
more than others. A western forest
researcher found that, "Artificially
pruned Douglas firs began to produce
clear lumber rather than knotty,
common construction grades in one
tenth the time required for trees to
prune naturally."
In Ontario, farmers find that they
can usually get two to three times and
occasionaiiy five times as much
money for a clear log than for one
that has knots, depending on the
species and other characteristics such
as straightness.
P'4\N
our s
Marvin L. Smith
B.Sc.F. (Forestry), R.P.F.
Farm Woodland Specialist
570 Riverview Dr.
Listowel, Ontario N4W 3T7
Telephone: (519) 291-2236
Providing advice and assistance with:
• impartial advice/assistance in selling timber,
including selection of trees and marking
• reforestation of erodible or idle land
• follow-up tending of young plantations
• windbreak planning and establishment
• woodlot management planning
• diagnosis of insect and disease problems
• conducting educational programs in woodlot
management
• any other woodland or tree concerns
44 THE RURAL VOICE