562 



Yearbook^ of Agriculture 1949 



disturbance by cows, sheep, goats, or 

 horses is especially damaging to wild 

 animals that live on or near the ground. 

 Severe grazing, which destroys young 

 trees, affects the existing conditions and 

 the future conditions under which the 

 wildlings live. 



Studies by Charles A. Dambach in 

 Ohio disclosed that eastern woodlands 

 that are protected from grazing have 

 twice as many species and numbers of 

 plants as grazed woodlands. Under 

 protected conditions are found about 

 twice as many kinds of birds that nest 

 on or near the ground and nearly twice 

 as many kinds of mammals than are 

 found in comparable woods that are 

 grazed. 



Harvesting trees as they mature here 

 and there throughout the woods in- 

 stead of cutting the whole lot at one 

 time is especially valuable to wildlife. 



An even-aged stand of trees has less 

 variety of wild birds and mammals 

 than a woodland that has a mixture of 

 mature and young trees. The more 

 variety in the habitat, the more variety 

 in the wildlife it supports. Further- 

 more, openings where trees are felled 

 are especially valuable to certain kinds 

 of wild cre'atures. In them there is a va- 

 riety of herbaceous and shrubby species 

 along with young trees, and such spots 

 make the woodland more desirable for 

 grouse, rabbits, and other living things. 



Some of the most useful, interesting, 

 and valuable animals of woodlands are 

 missing when there are no trees with 

 hollow trunks or hollow limbs. For 

 some kinds of wildlife, a hollow tree is 

 essential. The raccoon, for instance, is 

 rarely found where there is not a hol- 

 low tree for a den. Another fur bearer, 

 the opossum, also holes up in hollow 

 trees. Flying squirrels use the holes for 

 homes, and so do other squirrels, the 

 wood duck, screech owl, sparrow hawk, 

 chipmunk, nuthatch, crested flycatch- 

 er, chickadee, bluebird, purple martin, 

 and chimney swift. 



In Europe, the foresters found that 

 the woodlands composed of even-aged 

 stands of a single tree species supported 

 practically no wildlife. Injurious in- 



sects were also abundant. So much 

 damage was done by forest insects that 

 nest boxes were finally set up to attract 

 birds. The birds fed upon and helped 

 to control the harmful insects. Wood- 

 lands that compose a natural commu- 

 nity of living things give us less 

 trouble than artificial plantings. A few 

 scattered den trees help a great deal 

 toward maintaining a natural balance 

 in our small woodlands. They are es- 

 pecially valuable near streams or near 

 the margins of the woodland. 



At the outer margin of the small 

 woods, where it adjoins a field or pas- 

 ture, a border of shrubs is especially 

 valuable to wildlife. It is a principle of 

 wildlife management that there are 

 more wild creatures in the edge of a 

 particular type of vegetation than 

 within the type. Counts of birds and 

 mammals show more species, and more 

 individuals, along the shrubby margin 

 of a woodland than within the wood- 

 land or in the adjacent pasture or field. 

 Protecting the woodland edge thus in- 

 creases wildlife. Often fruit- and seed- 

 bearing shrubs grow there naturally. 



A simple method of producing shrub 

 borders is to cut the trees within 20 to 

 30 feet of the woodland edge. Certain 

 kinds of shrubs and other materials 

 can be planted successfully along the 

 margins of woodlands to improve them 

 for wildlife. 



The most valuable for the Eastern 

 States are: Bicolor lespedeza (Lespe- 

 deza bicolor) , bayberry (Myrica caro- 

 linensis) , hazelnut or American filbert 

 (Corylus americana) , flowering dog- 

 wood (Cornus florida) , highbush 

 cranberry or American cranberrybush 

 ( Viburnum trilobum) , the silky cornel 

 or the silky dogwood (Cornus amo- 

 mum) , and the Tatarian honeysuckle 

 (Lonicera tatarica) . 



For the Western States: Squaw- 

 bush or skunkbush (Rhus trilobata) , 

 American plum (Prunus americana), 

 chokecherry (Prunus demissa) , the 

 buffaloberry (Shepherdia argentea) , 

 tamarisk (Tamarix gallic a) , and Rus- 

 sian-olive (Elae-agnus angustifolia) . 



Nurserymen will be able to suggest 



