WAR-TIME USES OF THE WOODLOT 



BY AUSTIN F. HAWES 

 EXTENSION SPECIALIST IN FORESTRY 



WHAT has the farmer's woodlot to do with the war? 

 In this time of emergency when the farmer is 

 being appealed to for more wheat and corn; more 

 pork and beans; more potatoes and eggs, and every acre 

 is to be pushed for its maximum production, little attention 

 has been given to 

 the woodlot. That 

 unkept portion of 

 the farm where the 

 cows seek shelter 

 from the summer's 

 heat, where the 

 older people once 

 played at Indians, 

 and the younger 

 ones are now hunt- 

 ing Germans, has 

 never been con- 

 sidered of any 

 serious importance 

 in the farm or 

 national economy. 



But at this time 

 of national emer- 

 gency, when every 

 resource is being 

 scrutinized, and 

 many readjust- 

 ments are taking 

 place, it is well to consider the woodlot, which in the 

 aggregate forms such a large portion of the American 

 farm. The Geological Survey says in a recently published 

 bulletin: 1 "Nothing is more certain than that the coun- 

 try will, next winter, witness a shortage of coal perhaps 

 more serious than in the winter just passed unless unusual 

 efforts are made between now and next fall to prevent it." 

 When the published statements of the foreign Commis- 

 sioners, that France and Italy are in serious need of coal, 

 are taken into account it will be realized that the fuel situa- 

 tion is of vital importance to our allies as well as ourselves. 

 The coal shortage is due largely to the tremendous 

 growth of war industries dependent on coal, and the conse- 

 quent congestion of freight. Orders have already been 

 placed with our manufacturers which will keep them fully 

 employed for over a year, and therefore a shortening of the 

 war would offer no immediate solution of the fuel problem. 

 It must be realized that there is plenty of coal in the mines, 

 and that the difficulty comes from the inability of the rail- 

 roads to move it in the winter when there is such a great 

 demand for it. On October 1,1916, there was a total short- 

 age of 100,000 cars in this country, of which 25,000 were 

 coal cars. The advice of the Geological Survey is that the 

 1 U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 666-M, by C. E. Lesher. 

 332 



A LOT OF WOOD FROM A WOODLOT 



This shows what a woodlot can be made to do in the way of reducing the high cost of fuel and making 

 a farmer independent, to a large extent, of the coal producer and the overtaxed railroads in the present 

 nation-wide congestion of freight. The cut timber represents a considerable supply of fuel, and the 

 possibilities of the woodlot are by no means exhausted. 



consumer should buy and store coal against the needs of 

 next winter, and thereby personally save trouble and 

 expense. When it is realized that every car of coal un- 

 loaded this summer for use next winter will release a car 

 for other important and, perhaps, imperative needs at a 



time when the need 

 is greatest, there 

 will be no question 

 of the wisdom of 

 this call. 



What has all this 

 to do with the 

 woodlot? Simply 

 this: where coal is 

 scarce, wood can be 

 substituted to a 

 certain extent, and 

 should be this win- 

 ter. Obviously the 

 manufacturers can- 

 not substitute 

 wood; neither can 

 city people, because 

 this would result in 

 even greater rail- 

 road congestion. 

 For the same reason 

 the farmers of Ohio 

 and Illinois, who 

 can obtain coal on their own farms, might just as well 

 continue to do so. Wherever team-hauled wood can be 

 substituted for railroad-hauled coal this should be done, 

 and may be considered a part of the program laid down by 

 President Wilson. Farmers owning woodlots, and villages 

 which can purchase wood from nearby farmers, can all 

 help, and though it is not expected that many will substi- 

 tute wood as their chief fuel, they can supplement their 

 use of coal with wood much more than usual. In the seven- 

 teen states, including Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri and 

 those to the east, including New England, there is a rural 

 population of about 20,000,000 people, and it is estimated 

 that they use annually about 1 8,000,000 tons of coal. If by 

 substituting wood one-quarter of the coal burned by 

 farmers and one-tenth of the coal burned in villages could 

 be saved, there would be a total saving of 2,700,000 tons or 

 67,000 carloads. In fact, it seems reasonable to assume that 

 by an active campaign between two and three million 

 tons of coal can be saved, which is an appreciable factor. 

 Considering two cords of wood as the equivalent of one 

 ton of coal, this substitution would call for the cutting of 

 about five million cords of wood more than usual. The 

 total amount of wood used in these seventeen states last 

 year was estimated by the Forest Service at 26,5 7 1 ,000 cords. 



