'■VM) JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



complish profitable reconstruction. Individually every woodlot must 

 be considered a type in itself. The conditions superinduced have in 

 effect so altered the character of the original stand that detailed plans 

 of procedure for the specific natural types are apt to confuse the aver- 

 age land-owner or they may fall short of his needs. In addition the 

 economic situation has not been encouraging. Fifty years ago cord- 

 wood was worth more in most sections of the State than it was prior 

 to the outbreak of the European war. Coal and gas had practically 

 driven it out of the market. Mine timbers barely paid for cutting and 

 delivery. Charcoal offered such a limited market that its manufacture 

 was rarely profitable. There was consequently little opportunity for 

 the disposal of inferior timber. The outlook was not encouraging for 

 intensive operations on land of questional woodlot value. Notwith- 

 standing these conditions, the farmer has maintained a passive interest 

 in the woodlot. Sentiment admittedly was a factor of consequence, 

 but sentiment is crystallizing into a conviction that keener competition 

 in farming cannot tolerate the present type of woodland. The wood- 

 land pasture will go ; whether a regenerated forest will result or it will 

 be removed entirely will depend on the owner and his advisers. Cer- 

 tainly the woodland area in the agricultural regions will be reduced. 



No one questions the potentialities of the hardwood woodlot. The 

 great majority of those grazed can be profitably rejuvenated by natural 

 seeding under proper methods. It is obvious, however, that under some 

 conditions artificial re-enforcement must be employed. The nature of 

 the growth, the local demands, and those of the farmer himself will 

 often warrant introductions to meet these needs. The owner's interest 

 lies chiefly in the material he can grow for his own use. Fence-post con- 

 sumption exceeds that of all other farm timbers. Durable native woods 

 are largely exhausted. Wood preservation, despite unlimited raw ma- 

 terial and practical demonstration, has not come into favor. The con- 

 dition of the average woodlot was such that artificial re-enforcement 

 could be employed to provide those needs. Existent open spaces kept 

 clear by heavy grazing and those made by the removal of cull or mature 

 material afford opportunities for interplanting. Experiments in these 

 operations have met with varying success. Yellow locust, osage orange, 

 European larch, and catalpa were used at the outset because of their 

 post value. From a biological aspect, the use of locust in pure planta- 

 tion is no longer advisable on account of the infestation by the borer 

 (Cyllene robince). Material reduction in infestation has been noted in 

 several cases where the species was introduced into woods among asso- 

 ciates of the native growth. Pure plantations of locust established on 



