WOOD-LOTS ON FARMS £9 
help in any way in thirty years. Large timber can 
not be produced in that length of time, but mer- 
chantable materials, such as are now used in the saw- 
mills of the Eastern United States, are often con- 
siderably under that age. 
The wood of some trees, such as white pine and 
walnut, must be old to be good; in others, such as 
hickory and locust, young wood is quite as good, if 
not preferable. 
Posts and poles which may be utilized on the farm 
ean be produced in ten years. In Germany the spruce 
thinnings, which are peeled and then soaked in pre-. 
servative solutions, are extensively used in fence con- 
struction. 
In the Old World forestry and agriculture are 
combined. It is very common in Germany and 
France to see a field of wheat and basket willows side 
by side. It is not uncommon to see potatoes and 
other crops between the rows of little trees, which 
are destined to form the future forest. Often the 
seeds of trees are sown with a crop of grain. The 
grain protects the young trees and pays for the cost 
of seed and soil preparation. In France, cuttings of 
poplars are stuck in the ground along streams and 
roads. In the course of a few years the side branches 
are cut off. These are tied into bundles and sold to 
bakers. They are in great demand, because they give 
