WOOD-LOTS ON FARMS 23 
so that the trees are above the heads of the cattle, 
they may be of service in keeping down weeds. 
The maple sugar and sirup industry is truly a 
farmer’s industry. In the Northeastern United States 
the maple-tree forms a very conspicuous proportion 
of the farmer’s wood-lot. From the thinnings and 
trimmings he secures fuel, and in summer the cattle 
are permitted to enjoy its shade and feed upon the 
grasses and bushes which are abundant upon the for- 
est floor. The sugar-bush is usually an open forest 
in which there is a strong tendency toward brush and 
weedy growth. Cattle may often do good service in 
keeping it in check. 
The European farmer, by raising a few basket 
willows on his farm, provides work for a member 
of the family who has learned the trade of basket- 
weaving, and for another member who devotes him- 
self to selling the wares. Trunks, wagon-bodies, ham- 
pers, large urn-shaped baskets in which fish may be 
kept alive in the water, furniture, fike-nets, traps, 
poultry crates, and a host of useful objects are manu- 
factured from willow twigs. 
Unfortunately, a tree on a farm is too often a 
convenient place for tying horses. Into it nails are 
too often driven. These become in time covered, 
and are found later embedded in the wood. The tree 
ordinarily serves as a place to rest old rails against, 
