328 THE FORESTS OF GARRETT COUNTY 



ing trees. If lie desire simply cordwood or fencing, but little care 

 will be needed beyond the removal of trees that are crowding and 

 stunting the main crop. Work in the forest should be done gradu- 

 ally, as the material cut can be utilized and at a season of the year, 

 as in winter, when farm work is light. 



If the farmer desires better material from his woodlands than 

 cordwood more care and attention will be necessary. To produce ties 

 or lumber careful thinnings must be made and only those species 

 allowed to reach maturity which yield such materials. The stem 

 should be tall and free of limbs, necessitating a thick stand in youth 

 to kill the lower limbs. As the trees mature thinnings must be made 

 to induce a good diameter growth. A little thought and care on the 

 part of the small forest owner will result in a much improved forest 

 crop. 1 



The treatment of larger tracts not held in connection with farm 

 lands or other revenue producing areas, as mines or quarries, should 

 be similar to that for woodlots. The necessary annual expenditure 

 for protection and taxes on large tracts of land, from which, owing 

 to their burnt and cut-over condition no return can be expected 

 for a long period of years, is the greatest drawback to this form of 

 investment. For this reason large lumber firms and individual owners 

 usually dispose of the better portions of their cut-over lands to adjoin- 

 ing property owners. The unsalable portions are neglected and 

 often revert to the state through unpaid taxes. 



Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York have found it wise to pur- 

 chase and set aside as forest reserves large areas of these abandoned 

 lands. The object of the reservation is to preserve the beauty of cer- 

 tain regions, furnish breeding grounds for game, prevent erosion and 

 floods, and to furnish the wood consuming industries of the state 



1 If a more detailed plan of management is desired for the woodlot, 

 the Bureau of Forestry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, is prepared to 

 supply such a working plan, the terms of arrangement for which are out- 

 lined in Circular 21. The Bureau also offers tree planting plans, the terms 

 of which are set forth in Circular 22. Copies of these circulars can be had 

 by applying to the Bureau of Forestry, Washington, D. C. 



