You can use Google. The OP of this thread can be found by Googling ~ jeanwedding cornucop "find messages" site:gardenweb.com ~ Google advanced search will put in the quotes and the 'site:' bit for you if you don't want to type all that stuff. Sometimes Google will have the message almost immediately. Sometimes one must wait a day or two. Some, but not all very old messages may be found this way too.

The "live crown" is the percentage of height that has branches that have live foliage. The older and more crowded the trees are the less "live crown" you will have. If you plant the trees 8 X 8 I don't think you should be doing any thinning until the trees are at least 25 feet tall, and probably better 25, unless you really want to clear some paths to walk through. If you thin out trees too soon, you will have them spaced too far apart, and then the trees' branches will be too strong and heavy and there may be more of a tendency for the trees to be "bushy" rather than tall. The only trees you should thin early are poorly formed trees that are clearly crowding better trees, but with the 8 X 8 spacing I don't see this happening very soon. If some trees are forked, I would cut out the fork early--with young trees I think the end of the second year is best if the two sides are really equally competing with each other. But if one is stronger, I would not do anything and the tree will make one of the forks a side branch, and leaving it will mean a stronger tree. If the trees are 8 X 8 I think you should resist any impulse to thin until they are at least 20, and maybe better 25 or more feet tall. If some weaker trees are clearly overtopped, you can thin them out earlier. If in your area you have white pine weevils that kill the leaders of your trees, you have a special problem. You may want to ask your local forest service or ag extension if that is a problem in your area. If it is, that is another reason not to thin too much--a shaded forest floor can reduce the damage. I have white pine weevils, but they mostly affect my Norway spruce, not my white pine. I would not prune off any lower branches until the die naturally from the shading in the stand. I know you want to walk under the trees ASAP and enjoy the stand as it grows, but doing more is really less, if you know what I mean. White pine branches after they die naturally will persist for a long time--20 years or more--so you will want to prune them off. My white pine stands are now between 40 and 46 years old (I have three ages), and I have pruned most from ground level to 27 feet, and some up to 40 feet. I have Azel aluminum bolt together poles in 10 and 6 foot lengths. The longest pole I can effectively manage is 30 feet, but I have done a few trees with 36 feet of poles. Virginia pines drop their dead branches slowly, but eventually they drop off. The trees you describe must be more than 70 years old I would guess if they have pruned themselves naturally to that height. I leave all the branches I cut off and all the trees I cut down (after I limb them to get them to lie flat) for compost to add natural nutrients and organic matter to the soil. After three years the branches mostly disappear. I would avoid any impulse to keep things "neat" under the trees. I know what you mean by the frustrations of trying to do all the woodland work part time. I was a teacher all my life, so I had summers (not the full summer, but 30% of the summer, because I have a wife and another home) in addition to weekends. But I was patient and kept at it. Most of the work I have done for the last 35 years or so is in the 275 acres of hardwoods I have. Sometimes I get more involved with thinning and pruning my pine and spruce groves, but much of that work was done on rainy days and/or in an hour or so after dinner. I couldn't do much at any one time, but it really adds up if you keep at it. As for the Pales weevils--I never treated any of my plantings with chemicals or pesticides of any kind. My losses were bothersome (maybe about 10%) until the forester told me to keep any mulch or pine needles or other debris away from the little trunks of the newly planted trees. This reduced the losses to about 5% or less in places where the weevils were present. But you may need to get some local advice about just how serious the problem may be in your area and what you should do. --Spruce

Sue, It's so you have the option of NOT seeing the text, in case you don't want to know the answer. (See original poster's question.)

If it's not there (in natal's link), try a Google search. This list is a fabulous resource but the search stinks! If your post is too old it might have dropped off the list.