212 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



lumber. Quite the contrary. Our cities are built of stone, 

 brick, iron, and concrete, but more wood goes into our cities 

 for construction purposes today than in the days when they 

 were built entirely of wood. Our steamships are built of iron ; 

 but more wood goes into ship building now than formerly. 

 And so on through one industry after another. The 

 cooperage industry, which consumes large quantities of oak, 

 recognizes that its existence is imperiled by the scarcity which 

 it has itself created. The amount of lumber that is consumed 

 for barrels of all sorts — oil barrels, sugar barrels, molasses 

 barrels, beer kegs, whiskey barrels, flour barrels, apple barrels, 

 and then for lime, cement, truck, and almost every other kind 

 of article, is enormous in its total amount. The coopers will 

 have to turn to the woodlot as one of their main sources of 

 supply. So also in the case of mining, which consumes even 

 more timber than the railroads, the demand upon our forests 

 is very great. The miner must have timber to prop up as he 

 goes along. His demands require provision for the future. 

 And so with every great industry ; all are consumers of timber, 

 and will suffer when timber grows scarce and dear. 



To meet this need the farmers must do their share. What 

 is the method? What is the wisest course for the farmer to 

 take who wishes to make the most out of his woodlot? Well, 

 he must begin by remembering that he wants his land fully 

 stocked. If he has an old pasture that is coming up slowly to 

 forest growth, on which the red cedar and the white birch, 

 or gray birch, as it is more properly called, is coming 

 in, he ought to help nature along. Here is probably- an 

 opportunity for him to do some planting with very profita- 

 ble results, and although he may not himself live to cut planted 

 timber, it is not necessary in order that this savings bank 

 should be helpful to him that he should wait until the timber 

 is full grown. It is certain that well-timbered land is going 

 to be salable land, and especially that which has a good stock 

 of young timber on it. It is going to be salable at a much 

 better price than land which has received no care. 



Then the farmer must look out that as he cuts his trees 

 he selects them in such a way as to benefit the forest and to 

 provide for another generation. The branchy, wide-spreading 

 tree, the crooked tree, or a tree of a kind which is not likely 

 to prove salable, is the best kind for him to cut down when he 



