22 PRACTICAL FORESTRY 
scarcity of timber accounts for many things. It ren- 
ders it almost impossible to erect or maintain credit- 
able farm-buildings in the interior, especially where 
there are no good roads. It renders it necessary to 
construct the cottages of the laborers of bark and 
poles. It precludes the fencing of the farms into 
suitable fields for keeping the variety of stock best 
adapted to the conditions, and yielding the largest 
profits to the farmer.” 
In Perigord, in France, forests of oak are planted 
for the truffles which grow upon their roots. The 
truffle is a fungus not unlike the potato in appear- 
ance. It is relished as a food, and, it is said, three 
million dollars’ worth are annually exported. 
On the eastern shore of the Chesapeake, forestry 
and agriculture are combined in a praiseworthy fash- 
ion. ‘The pine straw is carefully collected, spread 
evenly, and turned under, for the production of sweet 
potatoes. The absence of litter on the forest floor 
prevents fire. In the course of time old fields are 
abandoned and new fields cleared. Where were for- 
merly potato fields, young pines soon appear, and 
where were once fine forests are now potato fields. 
Even pasturage in the forest may be practised 
if properly conducted. A couple of cows in the 
woods would cause less damage than the same num- 
ber of deer. In fact, after the forest reaches an age 
