FARM FORESTRY IN ILLINOIS 



A. N. ABBOTT, Morrison 



(Lantern slides were used during the address, showing sandy and eroded 

 lands, the effects of tree planting on sandy land, and woods where forest con- 

 ditions were maintained.) 



T IS estimated that timber in the United States is being con- 

 sumed four times as fast as it is being produced. The 

 rapidly increasing prices of lumber products during the 

 last two decades foretell the great timber scarcity which is 

 now upon us. Our great white pine forests were exploited 

 with the abandon of a drunken sailor. A heritage which 

 properly managed would have contributed to the use of the people 

 forever was destroyed in twenty years. 



It is quite time that the Nation, the states, and individuals adopt 

 a timber conservation policy. Much land is now cultivated, or has 

 been cultivated, which is of small tillage value and is suitable for 

 forestry. The most authentic sources of information indicate that 

 there are three million acres of woodland in the state and six million 

 acres more of non-agricultural land, making about twenty-five per 

 cent of the land of the state of a character that invites serious con- 

 sideration from a forestry standpoint. 



Two features of forestry policy are apparent, the improvement of 

 the woodlands which we have and tree planting on non-agricultural 

 land. Just as a good stand of corn is necessary to secure the maximum 

 crop, so a full stand of timber is necessary to secure the best results. 

 Interplanting in scanty forested woodlands would seem to be the first 

 step in a forestry program. For the best result stock should be ex- 

 cluded ; indeed, in a fairly wooded pasture the grazing is of no great 

 value, and the damage that stock can do to the young growth is con- 

 siderable. Exclusion of stock permits the formation of a forest mould, 

 so essential to the best forest growth. 



Forestry on unwooded, non-agricultural land presents another 

 problem, that of solid tree planting, the treatment required depend- 

 ing upon the soil. Sandy, rocky, gullied or overflowed land each pre- 

 sents problems peculiar to itself, the variety or varieties to be planted 

 requiring study and investigation. The harvesting and marketing of 

 mature trees require attention. The study of insect enemies and 

 fungous diseases will be necessary if a state-wide forestry policy is de- 

 cided upon. 



In all fairness it seems that an area as large as twenty-five per 



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