226 



Yearbook^ of Agriculture 1949 



Where the soil is dry, watering often 

 means the difference between success 

 or failure of a planting. 



Tree-planting machines are avail- 

 able in many States. In some localities 

 they can be rented from the State for- 

 estry agencies or private owners; in 

 other places they are available on loan 

 from soil conservation districts, or other 

 local organizations. 



It is often profitable to cultivate tree 

 seedlings, particularly for the first 2 or 

 3 years after planting. 



Seeds and grass often kill hardwood 

 seedlings and, in the Plain States (on 

 the prairies), the shelterbelts or wind- 

 breaks must be cultivated to insure 

 their establishment. Some pines, nota- 

 bly slash and loblolly, however, react 

 unfavorably to cultivation and are 

 more subject to disease if cultivated. 



THE ENEMIES OF THE SMALL FOREST 



are many. Some of them can be highly 

 destructive. 



A wildfire, in a few minutes, can 

 destroy the work of a lifetime in build- 

 ing up a stand of valuable timber; each 

 year owners of small forests lose more 

 than 15 million dollars because of fire. 

 Most of these fires are man-made. 



Get in touch with the nearest for- 

 ester promptly if there is any indication 

 that insects or disease are in your 

 forest. Improvement cuttings, the re- 

 moval of infested trees when a selective 

 cutting is made, and the application of 

 the best principles of forest manage- 

 ment are enough in most cases to keep 

 the small forest in a healthy condition 

 and prevent serious damage, unless a 

 general epidemic hits the locality. 



About grazing the small-forest, the 

 owner should remember: 



1. High-quality timber should be 

 grown on land maintained for that 

 purpose. 



2. Good cattle and good pasture go 

 together. A fence between the forest 

 land and the pasture land insures that 

 neither the trees nor the cattle will 

 suffer from interference by the other. 



Many well-managed small forests 

 are damaged during a logging opera- 



tion the falling trees may be thrown 

 against the crop trees or careless skid- 

 ding may tear the bark from their 

 trunks. 



The skid trails should be carefully 

 located. A skid trail or road running 

 up and down hill in a small forest often 

 develops into a large gully and pours 

 water into fields below. With some 

 species, a border of trees should be left 

 around the small forest after a cutting 

 operation to protect it from heavy 

 winds. 



Often crop trees are exposed to ex- 

 cessive breakage from ice and snow a 

 sign that cutting has been too heavy 

 and that trees should be left in clumps 

 until they become wind-firm or are 

 removed. 



AN ACCURATE MEASUREMENT of the 



timber one has for sale must be made 

 before a profitable sale can be made. 



Knowing how much one has to sell 

 from the small forest is just as im- 

 portant as knowing what to sell. 



The owner should know the general 

 specifications of the different timber 

 products so that the returns from one 

 product can be compared with the 

 value of another. 



Integrated use assures greater re- 

 turns. Each tree should be carefully 

 considered and cut into products that 

 will bring the greatest return. A ma- 

 ture tree might yield two valuable saw- 

 logs from the butt, several cross ties 

 above that part cut for sawlogs, some 

 pulpwood from the larger limbs, and 

 firewood from the top. Nothing is 

 wasted if this integrated utilization 

 method is used in sizing up each tree 

 before it is cut. 



It may be more profitable for the 

 owner to do his own cutting when 

 integrated utilization is involved, be- 

 cause many timber operators do not 

 handle more than one product at a 

 single cutting. 



Some advantages of integrated uti- 

 lization are: 



1. Care can be exercised so that 

 each tree will be cut properly. 



2. The owner or his employees can 



