Cash Crops from Small Forests 



175 



educational work through meetings, 

 usually held in a farm woodland, of 

 fairly large groups of farmers. This 

 group instruction includes demonstra- 

 tions of good cutting practices, thin- 

 ning, pruning, tree planting, log 

 scaling, forest-fire prevention, fence- 

 post preservation, farm use of forest 

 products, and other aspects of timber 

 growing and use. Bulletins and leaflets 

 are used to supplement the field work. 



Every forest property, however, has 

 peculiarities that are key factors in 

 determining the specific requirements 

 of forest management. This is particu- 

 larly true of small woodlands, most of 

 which have been culled over so often 

 that uniformity of forest conditions is 

 the exception rather than the rule. In 

 this important respect, tree crops are 

 totally unlike other crops with which 

 the landowner can begin with bare 

 land every year or two. The forest 

 owner, however, must start with what 

 he happens to have and must make 

 the desired changes gradually over a 

 period of years. When, therefore, a 

 landowner finds that conditions in his 

 own woodland differ appreciably from 

 those in the example used by the in- 

 structor, he often has difficulty in ap- 

 plying what he has learned. It is also 

 a common experience to encounter 

 problems not included or not yet 

 reached in the course of instruction. 

 It is then that the individual land- 

 owner needs competent technical help 

 in getting his forestry activities headed 

 in the right direction so as to avoid 

 making mistakes that perhaps cannot 

 be remedied for many years. Effective 

 assistance can be given only after ex- 

 amining the woodland itself. 



Such service to individual small- 

 forest owners is the other part of the 

 cooperative Federal-State program. It 

 is provided by State foresters in 40 

 States. In some States, the State for- 

 esters also are able to furnish timber- 

 cruising and timber-marking services 

 for a moderate fee if the landowner 

 wants additional help beyond the day 

 or so that can be given without charge. 

 This type of service fits in well with 



other operational work of State for- 

 estry departments in forest-fire control, 

 insect and disease control, production 

 of forest planting stock, and the like. 

 Assistance of this kind is provided in- 

 dividual forest owners through 173 co- 

 operatively employed farm foresters, 

 each of whom is assigned to a group of 

 3 or 4 counties. The 650 counties now 

 having this service are about a third 

 of the total number that need it. 



When assistance is requested, the 

 farm forester visits the woodland with 

 the owner. Together they discuss the 

 owner's plans for the area, taking into 

 account his need for additional cleared 

 land, the desirability of reforesting the 

 run-down or eroding fields, the owner's 

 immediate financial requirements or 

 need of forest products for home use. 

 The farm forester then uses his tech- 

 nical knowledge and experience to size 

 up the opportunities for the woodland 

 management on that particular area. 

 He makes a simple management plan 

 that outlines timber cutting, planting, 

 thinnings, and protection of the forest 

 from fire, insects, and grazing. If the 

 landowner has timber ready for har- 

 vest, the forester can recommend a 

 method of cutting, helps the owner to 

 mark the trees to be cut, helps estimate 

 their volume, and advises the owner on 

 marketing. Sometimes, when the job 

 justifies employment of a forester for 

 several weeks, the farm forester sug- 

 gests the names of qualified consulting 

 foresters. An important aspect of the 

 farm forester's work is to make a later 

 check-up visit to see how the owner is 

 getting along. Through the State for- 

 ester, or directly, the farm foresters 

 keep in touch with the State extension 

 forester so that individual assistance 

 and group instruction can be coordi- 

 nated effectively. 



As might be expected, numerous 

 owners of small woodlands do not live 

 on the area or for some other reason 

 will not do their own woods work. 

 Relatively little public assistance is at 

 present available to these absentee 

 owners. Unfortunately, also, few pri- 

 vate foresters are either experienced in 



