224 PRIVATE FORESTRY 



tant source of supply for saw logs for lumber, for repairs, bridges, 

 and construction work about farms, posts and rails for fencing pur- 

 poses, and for miscellaneous uses, such as maple syrup and sugar in 

 the Northeast and North, and naval stores in the Southeast. Of all 

 the commercial forests privately owned, these woodlots contain about 

 35 million acres of saw timber estimated to contain 123 billion b.f. 

 compared with 90 million acres in industrial ownership, estimated to 

 contain 864 billion b.f. Therefore they constitute a very important 

 source of our timber supplies. 



The tendency in the management of these small tracts has been to 

 fell the better species and the larger trees for current needs and to 

 leave the poorer individual trees and species to develop into the forests 

 of the future. This constant elimination of the better-quality stock 

 and the failure to improve growing conditions has very generally 

 resulted in a gradual deterioration of the woodlot as a source of farm 

 timbers and products for sale in the future. Too many small trees 

 that would produce a 2"x4" piece or small boards have been cut. 

 These small and medium-sized trees grow rapidly and are laying 

 on a most favorable rate of wood growth. They should not be cut 

 until they reach larger sizes. 



Many woodlands have been planted in the prairie states for shel- 

 terbelts and windbreaks. Many trees have also been planted on the 

 farmsteads and in connection with woodlots for shade purposes for 

 both man and animals. Submarginal lands have been planted on 

 many farms for timber, Christmas trees, and fence posts. 



The chief problem of the woodlot owner is to know when, where, 

 and how to sell his surplus timber products at a profit. The woodlot 

 may be the important or major source of farm income. Too frequently 

 the entire lot is sold for a lump sum to a portable-mill owner or 

 lumberman without proper cutting restrictions. Perhaps a few of 

 the best trees may be sold at a relatively low price for stumpage. 

 Many owners sacrifice a good growing stock for immediate cash 

 returns. Sometimes this is unavoidable. A vast total quantity of 

 Christmas trees, cords of pulpwood, poles, piling, posts, grape stakes, 

 mine timber, veneer and cooperage logs, distillation wood, and other 

 materials are produced on these small tracts. In fact they compose 

 a large source of these materials in many sections of the South, the 

 Central States, the Northeast, and the Lake States. Even in Wash- 

 ington and Oregon the farm woodlot is becoming of real importance. 

 The total value of woodlot produce was 242 million dollars in a 

 recent year. The South and Southeast contain more than 57 million 

 acres of farm woodlots more than any other region. 



