Roots and Stems and Dogwood Bolts 



179 



rial has reached an all-time low, and 

 consequently the prices for good coop- 

 erage stock are at an all-time high. 

 While other types of containers have 

 taken the place of wooden ones for 

 some liquids, there are still others, no- 

 tably whiskey, for which a suitable sub- 

 stitute for wood has not yet been found. 

 The owner of any of the various species 

 of white oak should investigate this 

 market. 



Another little-known product of the 

 woodland is basket willow. The Amer- 

 ican green willow, a tree of the clay 

 loam soils of the East and South, often 

 grows where few other commercial 

 products will grow in lands subject to 

 flooding and on the borders of lakes, 

 streams, and rivers. The marketable 

 product is the rods, or young shoots, 

 that spring from well-established root- 

 stocks or stumps. Willow may be prop- 

 agated by setting out cuttings about 

 10 inches long in the early spring. The 

 cuttings root easily in the moist earth 

 and within a few years have developed 

 well-rooted stock from which rods can 

 be harvested each year. Peeled willow 

 brings the highest prices in the basket 

 market. Before undertaking any exten- 

 sive propagation, the owner should be 

 sure a local market exists, however; the 

 industry is diminishing in this country. 



The California-laurel, or the Ore- 

 gon-myrtle, neither a laurel nor a myr- 

 tle, belongs to a family that includes the 

 eastern sassafras and the "loblolly bays" 

 of the South. It grows from south- 

 western Oregon to the southern border 

 of California. Its beautiful grain makes 

 it valuable for cabinet and finishing 

 work. The wood, therefore, becomes a 

 specialty item that brings a better price 

 for special uses than it does as lumber. 



Many farmers use 15 to 20 cords of 

 wood each year; as a home-use prod- 

 uct, therefore, fuel wood stands high 

 on the list. For the market it may be a 

 profitable source of income. With good 

 roads and easy transportation, wood- 

 land owners find it profitable to haul 

 fuel wood 15 miles or more to the city 

 markets. In most large cities, fireplace 

 wood is a luxury item that sells at lux- 



ury prices. Where the woodland pro- 

 duces more fuel wood than the farmer 

 can use himself, the fuel-wood market 

 provides an outlet for the wood which 

 might otherwise be wasted. In such 

 cases, it is well for him to establish a 

 steady year-round market and to serv- 

 ice that market with sound, high- 

 calorie wood. 



Too few wood sellers make a point 

 of marketing quality wood. Those who 

 do are assured of a group of satisfied 

 customers. The fuel value of wood 

 varies considerably; generally, it is 

 highest in the heavier woods. One 

 standard cord of such wood as oak, 

 maple, hickory, and beech is equal to 

 roughly a ton of coal in heat value ; the 

 heat value of lighter woods such as 

 cedar, spruce, soft pine, poplar, and 

 basswood is about half as much. Local 

 custom and uses determine the sizes 

 into which the fuel wood should be cut, 

 but there is one unalterable standard 

 the wood must be thoroughly dry. 

 Hence, the owner must plan his work 

 so that the wood is cut several months 

 before he intends to sell it. 



Cutting fuel wood, if done wisely, 

 can be a way to improve a poor timber 

 stand. Trees that should be cut be- 

 cause they will never make good tim- 

 ber or are interfering with the growth 

 of others may make excellent fuel.. 

 Tops and heavy limbs of trees cut for 

 other purposes often can be converted 

 into cordwood for the market or home 

 use. Slabs, edgings, and sawmill trim- 

 mings also may have fuel value. 



Among the other stem products are 

 those derived from the sap or liquids 

 in the trees. Chief among them is the 

 resin or gum of the longleaf and slash 

 pines of the South. Operating a tur- 

 pentine orchard is often a major enter- 

 prise, but it also is a minor enterprise 

 on thousands of woodlands. If good 

 turpentining practices are followed on 

 the small holdings, as on the large ones, 

 the producing life of the tree can be 

 extended, and after the tree has been 

 worked out it will still yield valuable 

 products in the form of pulpwood, 

 fence posts, cross ties, or sawlogs. 



