i8o 



A little-known gum product is that 

 produced by the sweetgum or redgum 

 tree, one of the most common hard- 

 woods of the South, although few 

 farmers or landowners have much use 

 for it. Farmers in Clarke County, Ala., 

 however, have developed a $200,000 

 business in the sweet gum from the tree. 

 Known as "storax," the gum is gath- 

 ered much as is the gum of the naval 

 stores pines and, processed, is used for 

 adhesives, salves, incense, and perfume. 



The production of maple sirup and 

 sugar is confined mostly to New Eng- 

 land, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, 

 Maryland, and the Lake States. The 

 sugar maple tree is the best producer, 

 although red and silver maples, which 

 yield about one-half the sugar content 

 of the sugar maple, can also be used. 

 For commercial operations, it is de- 

 sirable to have at least 500 to 1,000 

 trees that can be tapped. Owners of 

 smaller numbers of sugar trees, how- 

 ever, can combine their output for 

 processing. Mature trees are excellent 

 sap producers as long as they remain 

 vigorous, even though their rate of 

 growth may be slow. A seasonal opera- 

 tion, the making of maple sirup em- 

 ploys farm labor profitably for 2 to 5 

 weeks each year when the sap begins 

 to flow, generally from February 15 to 

 April 15. Drawing off the sap does 

 little harm to the trees. Trees that have 

 been tapped for years still can yield 

 good sawlogs and other wood products. 

 The sugar stock must be protected from 

 fire and grazing. 



Minor markets are also found for 

 the resin of the balsam fir and the bark 

 and twigs of the black birch, from 

 which medicinal products are derived. 



Often stem products involve the 

 whole plant. For example, in many 

 parts of the country farmers and others 

 supplement their incomes by selling 

 large fern fronds and attractive weed 

 plants to florists for use in bouquets. 



Sphagnum moss, because of its good 

 water-holding ability it is much more 

 absorbent than cotton often finds a 

 ready market at forest nurseries and 

 gardeners' supply houses. It is ideal for 



Yearbook^ of Agriculture 1949 



packing seedlings for shipment and as 

 a medium for seed germination. It is 

 a long-stemmed moss that is harvested 

 in commercial quantities in Wisconsin 

 and New Jersey. Harvesting is done by 

 taking the massed moss from the water 

 and permitting it to dry in the sun. 



Spanish moss, that sombre, dull- 

 green decoration found on trees in the 

 lowlands of the South, is also a mar- 

 ketable item. The moss clings to the 

 tree only for support and does the tree 

 no harm unless it covers it so com- 

 pletely that it prevents development of 

 leaves and buds. It derives its living 

 from the air. Easily gathered, it finds 

 a market as packing material. 



The cork oak is a native of the shores 

 of the western Mediterranean, but it 

 has been found to thrive if planted in 

 the United States in regions where the 

 mean annual temperature ranges from 

 50 to 70 F. The tree has several uses. 

 Being evergreen, it makes a desirable 

 ornamental tree ; its acorns make good 

 feed for hogs; its bark yields cork, 

 which can be stripped from healthy 

 trees without injury to the trees. The 

 tree is adaptable to many types of soil 

 if drainage is good. It may be grown 

 from acorns or from nursery stock. The 

 cork harvest can begin when trees are 

 13 to 20 years old. The markets for 

 cork are good, and the cork-using in- 

 dustry in this country is encouraging 

 the establishment of plantations. 



The bark of western buckthorn, or 

 cascara sagrada, which ranges from 

 Puget Sound southward into Lower 

 California, is used for its medicinal val- 

 ue. In Oregon and Washington, collec- 

 tion of the bark is often an important 

 local industry. Cut stumps generally 

 sprout vigorously, yielding additional 

 crops if conservatively managed. The 

 wood is of no commercial value. 



AMONG THE LEAF PRODUCTS we can 

 include Christmas trees, because their 

 evergreen leaves or needles are of most 

 importance in their sale and use. 

 Christmas trees in quantity are rarely 

 the products of a small woodland. 

 More and more, the Christmas-tree 



