284 THE ESSENTIALS OF AGRICULTURE 



with a small amount of waste and with very little injury to the 

 young timber, and the danger of fire following cutting can be 

 entirely eliminated. 



371 . Farm wood lot. Of the 617,187 square miles of timber- 

 land held under private ownership in the United States, about 

 one fourth is included in what is termed " farm wood lots," and 

 is owned by the farmers throughout the agricultural regions 

 of the United States. The proper handling of these wood lots 

 is a matter of great importance in the economic management 

 of the farms. The wood lots may consist of natural or planted 

 timber. They occupy lands that are entirely accessible, and 

 are as a whole more productive than much of the land within 

 the forest regions. Under proper management these wood lots 

 are capable of producing the highest grade of timber and may 

 also produce a great deal of small material for constant farm 

 use (Fig. 134). 



372. Management of the wood lot. The object to be secured 

 in the management of a wood lot is a full stand of growing 

 timber of the highest possible grade. To accomplish this : 



1 . All inferior species and defective and diseased trees must 

 be cut to make room for trees of greater value (Fig. 135). 



2. All merchantable trees must be cut and removed as soon 

 as they have reached financial maturity. 



3. All open spaces made by the removal of trees must be 

 planted with seeds or seedlings of desirable species as soon as 

 possible after the ground has been cleared. 



In the artificial wood lots where the catalpa, black locust, red 

 oak, chestnut, or eucalyptus are growing, reproduction may be 

 secured by stump sprouts, and in this case planting will be un- 

 necessary. Frequently it is possible to save time in the rotation 

 of a timber crop by planting under the mature trees with a shade- 

 enduring species, such as the white pine, spruce, red cedar, and 

 chestnut, several years before the mature trees are cut. When 

 this method is practiced, great care must be exercised in cutting 

 and removing the mature trees, in order to avoid injuring the 

 young stand. 



