THE NATIONAL ARMY AND TRAINING IN FORESTRY 



817 



development. For the most part the instruction should be 

 in the form of field work under personal supervision by 

 practical foresters. In this connection it may be added 

 that French forests, due to their long period under man- 

 agement, afford much better illustrations of the results of 

 silvicultural treatment than forests in this country, none 

 of which have been organized for forest management ex- 

 cept in recent years. In the forests of France that have 

 not been destroyed or seriously over cut or injured due to 

 the war may be found every stage in the life of managed 

 stands. The results of silvicultural operations executed 

 in the past are expressed in the present condition of 

 stands. For the above reasons selected French forests 

 are admirable for demonstrating on the ground the re- 

 sults of every phase of silvicultural treatment. 



The large numbers of American soldiers that will elect 

 the study of forestry if opportunity is afforded will not 

 only have a vast and far-reaching effect on forestry in 

 this country but the work can be made to perform a 

 large service in rehabilitating many of the forests in 

 France that have been injured or destroyed by the war. 

 If the instruction in forestry provided for the army 

 serves its best purpose it should consist largely of field 

 work under supervision, where the men are taught the 

 art of forestry through the actual performance of work in 

 the woods. The field work necessary in the conduct of 

 the training can be made not only of educational value 

 but its importance to France should be fully appreciated. 

 Not only can improvement work be carried out in forests 

 now existing but many of those destroyed by war can be 

 replanted as a part of the field work. As a practical 

 illustration, if but 20,000 soldiers out of the one and one- 

 half million or more men that will likely be in France 

 at the close of hostilities should elect to study forestry 

 prior to re-embarkation, this body of men in pursuit of 

 their practical experience in forest planting could plant 

 approximately 10 million trees in a single day and thus 

 reestablish stands of timber on at least 8,000 acres of 

 devastated France. It is assumed that the planting stock 

 available in France for artificial regeneration is so limited 

 in amount that it would be desirable to supplement it by 

 suitable stock available from this country. Last spring 

 the Pennsylvania Department of Forestry through the 

 Governor of Pennsylvania offered to the French Govern- 

 ment a gift of four million forest tree seedlings from the 

 State Forest nurseries. It v is believed that at least 10 

 million forest tree seedlings are available in the forest 

 nurseries of eastern United States, many of which are 

 suitable for planting in France. Those suitable for for- 

 eign use and growing in state or other publicly owned 

 nurseries can very likely be secured for overseas use at 

 little or no cost. 



More than 1,400 American foresters are now in the 

 United States Army in one capacity or another. Ap- 

 proximately one-half are graduates of forest schools or 

 were students in forest schools when the United States 

 entered the war. It is evident that if the instruction in 

 forestry provided for American soldiers is organized 

 with foresight and definitely planned for without delay 



and the American foresters now in France organized into 

 a teaching staff to take charge of the work at many cen- 

 ters as soon as peace is declared much can be accomplish- 

 ed of real value to the soldiers themselves and of great ' 

 future value to this country. At the same time a vast 

 work could be performed in the rehabiliament of French 

 forests. 



SALE OF OF SURPLUS FARM TIMBER ADDS 

 TO CASH RETURN FROM LAND 



'"PEN helps in marketing woodland products, summed 

 A up in the accompanying chart, should be carefully 

 considered by those desiring to sell timber. These aim 

 to bring the producer in touch with the consumer so as 

 to market as direct as possible. High-grade logs of 

 white oak, yellow poplar, red gum, ash, cherry, black 

 walnut, etc., in most cases can be sold direct to the manu- 

 facturing plants, although located at considerable dis- 

 tances. Local wood-using plants usually buy in lots as 

 small as wagon or truck load, but not less than a carload 

 lot can be sold profitably for shipment. 



In most sections of the South the farms have sufficient 

 woodland for the best welfare of the farm, but in a few 

 districts like the "black belt" and intensive tobacco grow- 



TEN HELPS IN MARKETING WOODLAND 

 PRODUCTS 



1. Get prices for various wood products from as many 



sawmills and other wood-using plants as possi- 

 ble. 



2. Before selling, consult neighbors who have sold 



timber and benefit from their experiences. 



3. Investigate local timber requirements and prices. 



Your products may be worth more locally be- 

 cause transportation is saved. 



4. Advertise in papers and otherwise secure outside 



competition. 



5. Secure bids if practicable both by the lump and by 



log-scale measure. 



6. Be sure that you are selling to responsible pur- 



chasers. 



7. Get a reliable estimate of the amount and value of 



the material before selling. 



8. Market the higher grades of timber and use the 



cheaper for farm purposes. 



9. Remember that standing timber can wait over a 



period of low prices without rapid deterioration. 

 10. Use a written agreement in selling timber, espe- 

 cially if cutting is done by purchaser. 



ing sections, the timber has been mostly cut, and owners 

 are obliged to buy firewood and lumber, posts and rough 

 timbers for the upkeep of their farms. Where there is an 

 excess of wooded land and growing timber above the 

 permanent needs of the farmer timber becomes an im- 

 portant product, to be sold in many cases from land 

 cleared to make openings for more field crops or pastur- 

 age. The farmer's interest centers naturally in the con- 

 servation and disposal rather than the production of tim- 

 ber. Much of the grown timber was on the farm when 

 the present occupant came into its possession. In the 

 case of the ordinary field crops and live stock, however, 

 which mature in from one to three years, production 

 usually is the prime consideration. 



