Vol. 16—1962 - NorthEastern Weed Science Society

417
FENURQlt,A PROMISINGNEWTOOL
FOR FORESTRENOVATIONIN THE NOR1'HEAST
By
Carl. C. ZimmElrID&n*
~.a.wk Tree Farms
R.F.D. No.2, Box 180
Laconia, New Hampshire, .
'I'be Northeast has an i~(lreasing trend toward permanent forest I
holdings by urban people, who use the houses for sUllllllerretreats, week-end
recreation or retirement. They do most of the work on this land themsel'lnes
as a spare-time occupation, because. hired labor is. ,e,xpensive even when it I S
available. These holdings are mostJ,y less than 1,000 acres, and each tract
is gener~ly less than 100 acres.
Typically, these are m:i.xedstan's of val~le hardwoods and
conifers in which various weed trees shortly predOlllil.nate. Some of the mo:-e
serious weed species are aspen, gray birch, swamp maple, wild cherry, andl
elm. Cutting these weed trees ~s not satisfactory ~cause re-sprouts frQlt
the stumps and roots become an even more severe pro1:llem.
111eanswer to this problem seems to be an ..1nexpensive and simpl,
method of selective chemical weeding, involving little investment in mechWcal
equipment. Blanket chemical applications either from the air or ground
are inadvisable because of possible damage to desizWille forest trees or nearby
crops and ornamentals.
In three years I experimentation at Blackhawk Farms, fenuron, which
is cOllllllercially available only in 25 per cent pellets at the present time,
appears to be a promising tool for forest weeding.
The Site
Blackhawk Farms consists of about 1,000 aqr,es of typical north- •
eastern woodland, in six tracts around Gilmanton, N. H., a few miles southeast
of Laconia. lUl six tracts Were at one time pU'ts of cultivated farms
or pastures, but they have now reverted to forests and brush •
The. over-all forestry aim is to develop this .total acreage into
an economic sustained-yield tree in unit. The pr~nt program started in
1949. Unt11 1956, the ma.in activity was planting con:lfers in abandoned
fields. Cutting was the only methOd used for removius weed trees.
* A 50ciolo61st at Harvard University, who treef!U'DIII for an. avocation. 111is
project is supported by a grant from the Permanent, ;6cijilnee Fund of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences.