The Woodlot that Pays 



The follov/ing suggestions are for the correction of abuses 

 that commonly keep woodlots in a bad condition. Not one of 

 them is hard to follow: 



1. Don't let the woodlot he graced. Browsing destroys young 

 growth, gnawing injures older trees, trampling packs and hardens 

 the leaf mould, kills seedlings and prevents seed germination. 



2. Don't hum the wood's floor over. It destroys the rich 

 leaf mould, main food of trees; it causes the soil to cake and dry; 

 it injures the old trees and kills the young ones; it makes inroads 

 of fungi and insects easy. 



3. Destroy dead and dying trees and rubbish. They are full 

 of diseases that infect sound timber. They harbour insects. 

 They invite and spread fires. 



4. Remove gnarled and otherwise imperfect trees that over- 

 shadow young growth. 



5. Take out undesirable kinds of trees and give better kinds 

 their places. 



6. Plan to have a tree fall so as to injure as little as possible 

 the surrounding trees. "Brushing out" around a tree and its 

 final fall often destroy its natural successors. 



7. Cut with low stumps. This is economy, and with trees 

 that sprout from the stump it gives the sprout close connection 

 with the root system which in time becomes its own. 



8. Make smooth, slanting cuts for stump reproduction. If 

 the cut is ragged * (through wood or bark) or trough-shaped, it 

 accumulates water which induces decay. Sprout timber after 

 siich cutting is mostly unsound at the butt, and useless except 

 as fuel. 



9. Plant young trees raised in the garden or transplanted from 

 the woods in open spaces in the woodlot. 



10. Sow seeds of desirable kinds where they will improve the 

 stand. Pick up white-oak acorns and walnuts and hickory nuts, 

 push them into the leaf mould, one here, one there, and step on 

 them. Treat thus the thinly planted parts of your woods. It 

 takes thought but very slight expense of time or work, to do a 

 great deal of this supplementary forest planting. 



1 1. Leave seed trees of good kinds, when cutting logs or cord- 

 wood. They will save you a great deal of work. 



12. Plant waste land with trees. On almost every farm is 

 some land that is non-productive. It may wash in rainy weather. 



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