226 ILLINOIS STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



FARM WOODLOTS IN ILLINOIS 



W. F. ScHREEDER, NATURAL HlSTORY SURVEY, UrBANA 



The acreage of farm woodlots in Illinois as given by 

 the 1920 Census amounts to 3,102,579 acres, and the value 

 of woodlot products was $6,259,000.. Taking into con- 

 sideration the value of this asset it seems that a brief 

 discussion of the farm woodlot in Illinois would not be 

 out of place at this meeting. 



Some studies had been made as to the value of farm 

 woodlot products as they contribute to the farmer's liv- 

 ing (Funk '14) and the use of wood for fuel (Bulletin No. 

 753, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Forest 

 Investigations), but not until recently have studies been 

 made as to the economic value and possibilities of the 

 farm woodlot. Perhaps the most recent information on 

 this subject is contained in an unpublished manuscript 

 in the files of the Forest Service, by Mr. E. F. Hodgson, 

 on "Farm Woodland Economics". 



The results which are presented in preliminary form 

 in this paper have been derived from a study made of 

 farm woodlots in Illinois, partly by personal visitation 

 to farmers in certain townships and partly through the 

 questionnaire method. It is a part of the whole subject 

 of forest economics of the state, for the study of which 

 Professor H. H. Chapman, professor of Forest Manage- 

 ment in the Yale School of Forestry, was employed part 

 time last summer by the Natural History Survey and 

 upon which he will later present a detailed report. 



During the year 1922 questionnaires were sent out to 

 1,600 farmers in every county in the state. Lists of farm- 

 ers from various counties were sent in by the county 

 farm advisers and contained the names of those most 

 likely to have farm woodlots or to be interested in the 

 same, although many were "corn-belt farmers". Ques- 

 tions were asked not only concerning the acreage of the 

 farm in woods and the amount of timberland grazed, but 

 also regarding the amount of wood and coal burned, the 

 number of fence posts used and the amounts of various 

 products cut from farm woodlands for the last five year 

 period with the prices received for the same, as well as 



