132 WE FARM FOR A HOBBY 



I am sure there are at least three more coming 

 along to take its place. Never mind where they 

 are; if in a fence row all the better. For it has 

 been demonstrated that even though crops will 

 not flourish close up under the trees in a fence 

 row, nevertheless the adjacent measurable differ- 

 ence in moisture content and soil fertility more 

 than justifies the trees. 



There is a good deal of difference between a 

 timber forest and an ideal farm woodlot. The lat- 

 ter must serve a variety of needs. The more dif- 

 ferent kinds of wood it contains, the better; and 

 there should be trees of all sizes and ages, so that 

 the production of available material for various 

 uses will be steady. Our biggest single need is for 

 firewood. Although we use four fireplaces pretty 

 steadily from early fall into late spring we have 

 seldom had to cut up a whole mature tree for fuel 

 alone: weed trees, fallen trees, and the topwood 

 of trees cut for posts or other purposes supply 

 ninety per cent of it. 



We also have a small but steady by-product of 

 hides, which are at present going to waste. Kephart 

 has directions for home tanning with natural ma- 

 terials. There is a government pamphlet on how 

 to do it with chemicals. But my few attempts have 

 been abortive; tanning, in my opinion, is one of 

 those things that a smart, up-to-date chemist could 

 give his attention to with benefit to the home- 



