II 



One need not be a forester to get good results from a woodlot, 

 yet the yield will be in direct proportion to the skill and intelligence 

 bestowed upon it. 



Many a woodlot is a farmer's savings bank; into it he puts 

 thought and knowledge, and a little labor in the winter, and draws 

 out at need, or periodically, material that has as assured a value 

 as wheat. Something definite on this will be found in reference 

 No. 7. 



References Nos. i, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. 



Questions. I. Why is a woodlot of especial value on a farm? 



2. To what kind of land should woodlots be restricted? Why? 



3. Why is a woodlot like a savings bank? 



4. What is the character and condition of your woodlot? 



SILVICULTURE. 



Success in growing trees for lumber depends upon some knowl- 

 edge of what helps and what retards their growth ; how the species 

 differ from one another with respect to soil, light, moisture? what 

 species are best suited to given conditions. To know these things, 

 and to apply the knowledge is silviculture, as agriculture is to know 

 and to do what is needful to make a field fruitful, or, to cultivate 

 apple trees, or to produce potatoes. 



The silviculturist or forester has an advantage over the agricul- 

 turist in that nature is always a guide. Observe and follow her. 

 An infallible rule deduced from such observation is that only a 

 few kinds of trees are found naturally on poor soils, while many 

 kinds are found on rich soils. This explains the presence of pines 



alone, or with a few oaks, on the sandy areas of South 

 Soil. Jersey, while the strong soils of Central and North 



Jersey bear (or bore) a great variety of oaks, maples, 

 ashes, elm, tulip, etc. It also indicates the kind of trees that should 

 be propagated in any locality. Conversely the soils that produce the 

 finest forests are the best for farming. 



