496 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



while in themselves ; they have a wider 

 significance as part of the general 

 schooling by which the rising genera- 

 tion will be prepared to handle more 

 efficiently the forest problems of their 

 day. 



«r' Jfe' )^ 



The Woodlot 



FOR the eastern United States, the 

 woodlot is and will long continue 

 to be an important factor in the for- 

 estry problem. Generally speaking, the 

 eastern farm has its woodlot, large or 

 small, a very valuable part of the prop- 

 erty, and a part that is too little ap- 

 preciated by its owner. 



It follows that the farmers have a di- 

 rect interest in forestry second only to 

 that of the lumbermen. That the wood- 

 lot may be maintained in such condition 

 as to yield a continuous supply of fire- 

 wood, fence posts, poles, and lumber for 

 home use, with perhaps a surplus for 

 sale, is the object for which its owner 

 should strive, and to this end he should 

 know something of the main principles 

 of forestry and of the special applica- 

 tion of those principles to the condi- 

 tions on his own farm. 



As an illustration of what this may 

 mean to him in money, consider an in- 

 cident that actually happened, involving 

 two New England farmers. Their 

 woodlots were of the same character, 

 the principal growth being pine. One 

 of them had his lot, which he proposed 

 to cut, examined by a forester, who 

 made an estimate of the stumpage value. 



The stumpage was then sold to a lum- 

 berman at $7 a thousand. 



The same lumberman had been try- 

 ing to buy the stumpage on the second 

 farmer's lot, and had last offered $800 

 for it. Now, as he was going to work 

 the neighbor's lot, he increased his of- 

 fer to $1,200, which was accepted, the 

 owner congratulating himself on hav- 

 ing pushed the price up $400. But note 

 the result. From this second lot the 

 lumberman cut 1,000,000 board feet. 

 Had this brought the price that the first 

 lot brought, the owner would have re- 

 ceived $7,000, instead of $1,200. He 

 gave the lumberman $5,800 because of 

 his ignorance of the value of his own 

 property. 



This is only one case among thou- 

 sands, but the opportunity afforded for 

 comparison makes it especially valuable 

 for illustration. How many of our 

 farmers know what a bank account there 

 is in the woodlot, and how to make it 

 yield the most interest? 



On many of our eastern farms there 

 is land that is more available for tree 

 growing than for modern agriculture, 

 that is neglected and doing nothing — 

 too run out for pasture, too rough for 

 cultivation. A plantation of forest trees 

 on this land would not yield an imme- 

 diate return, but it would cost little and 

 would enhance the value of the land 

 each year, besides providing for the 

 needs of the future. 



The scientific farmer should know 

 something of forestry as well as dairy- 

 ing and horticulture, if he would have 

 his farming well balanced and profitable 

 in all its departments. 



