LESSONS FROM THE FOREST 11 



It would be both unfortunate and unwise to study the forest without 

 also studying some of the fascinating creatures that inhabit the wildwood. 

 We may watch the squirrel in his travel through the tree tops; the wood- 

 pecker, rapping as it were, for admission on the wooden door of the tree 

 trunks or boring holes in the bark as a cache for his winter supply of acorns. 

 We may, if we are bold enough, even venture into the realms of those larger 

 and more ferocious creatures of the woods, such as the bear and wolves. All 

 these go to make the story of the forest one of intense interest to the child. 



Before I leave the subject of nature study, I wish to emphasize again the 

 importance of the tree from an aesthetic viewpoint. I need only to remind 

 you of the beauty of a city street lined with beautiful trees to impress upon 

 your minds what you already know — namely, the importance of trees in the 

 beautificatiou of cities. And what can possibly plead more strongly for the 

 cause of the tree than the contrast so often seen of two school houses, situated 

 within a few miles of one another, the first with grounds absolutely barren 

 and uninviting; the other nestling cozily among shady maples, which shelter 

 it in winter from the storms and furnish cool shade in .summer? 



FORESTRY IN AGRICULTURE. 



Tossibly the most important phase of the study of forestry in so far as it 

 is applicable to the public school is found in its application to elementary 

 agriculture. We are coming more and more to realize that the woodlot is just 

 as essential to the organization of the farm as the cornfield or the alfalfa 

 patch; the products of the woodlot are just as much to be considered farm 

 crops as grain or hay. Some farms are fortunate enough to include native 

 timberland, but in the prairie states, more often, a plantation is necessary. 

 The difficulty to be overcome in establishing a woodlot is that agricultural 

 iaud can be made more immediately profitable for the production of other crops 

 than if planted to trees. The student of agriculture will at once see that one 

 function of the woodlot is in the utilization of waste lauds, such, for example, 

 as are subject to erosion or cut off from cultivation by streams or other topo- 

 graphical obstructions. It is well to realize also that trees will almost 

 invariably grow on soil too poor or too rough to support any other crop. This 

 is true also of sandy soils, where trees will not only thrive, if proper species 

 are selected, but will also prove useful in preventing the shifting of sands by 

 the action of winds. 



I'erhaps the most common as well as the most useful type of woodlot 

 l)lantation found in the Middle West is that which surrounds the home of 

 nearly every prairie farmer. This type combines the advantages of the wind- 

 break or shelterbelt, to that of the crop-producing woodlot. Its advantages 

 are so obvious that argument is really unnecessary to convince any student of 

 agriculture of its importance to the farmer. 



Study for a moment the utilization of trees as a protection for the or- 

 chard. This is especially important in those regions where there are prevail- 

 ing winds which will invariably distort and injure the fruit trees if they are 

 unprotected. But the woodlot cannot be left to itself without cultivation 

 or care if it is to be successful. The first thing, of course, to be consid- 

 ered in establishing a plantation is proper planting methods. One common 

 fault in tree planting for woodlot purposes is that often too much space is 

 left between the trees. A plantation will not thrive when the trees are too 

 wide apart to aft'ord mutual protection, while a plantation closely planted will 

 usually produce the best iyi>e of tree for posts, poles or lumber because of the 

 clear straight boles which the trees develop. 



It is the custom in many places to utilize the woodlot for grazing pur- 

 poses. This gives bad results in two ways. It prevents any possibility of 



