Canadian Forestrij Journal, March, 1918 



1579 



High Prices Make Farm Forestry Possible 



What an occasion the present 

 offers for an energetic thoroughly-ar- 

 ganized and persistent educational 

 campaign among the farmers of Ont- 

 ario, Quebec and New Brunswick for 

 the intelligent managing of their 

 woodlots! 



Except for a commencement by 

 the Quebec Forest Service, nothing 

 has yet been done, although an op- 

 portunity such as now exists may be 

 some years in developing again. The 

 farmer's woodlot has soared in market 

 value. No longer is cordwood being 

 cut and delivered at three dollars a 

 cord. No longer does the farmer 

 count his stumpage as worth nothing 

 and his time and horses as the only 

 elements figuring in the selling price. 

 That day is gone for ever. The 

 present, however, is probably the 

 peak period of high prices unless th:^ 



labor situation gets more stringent. 

 The farmer is willing to be told how 

 to manage his woodlot so as to ex- 

 tract the highest profit and maintain 

 its capacity for future j)ronts. It is 

 surely a great sowing period, in which 

 the provincial forest departments are 

 obviously, the educational leaders. 



Hitherto, the farmer has not found 

 it worth while to take from his wood- 

 land the poorer slow-growing species, 

 the crooked, hollow, dead-topped 

 trees, and windfalls, because no mar- 

 ket existed. So the average woodlot 

 remained cumbered with debris, with 

 young growth restricted, and un- 

 desirable species taking up the room. 

 The market will gladly pay the 

 farmer in settled districts for taking 

 out this material and by the same 

 stroke he will give'the more valuable 

 spec-ies a new lease ot life. 



How to Cut a Woodlot 



The following excellent hints for 

 cutting in a woodlot were prepared by 

 J. S. Holmes, State Forester of North 

 Carolina. 



1. Cut clear only where it is in- 

 tended to clean up and use the land 

 for agriculture. In such places close 

 utilization is the only conservation 

 measure. Use up closely all tops, 

 dead and down trees, knotty or 

 hollow logs. 



2. Burn brush only in damp wea- 

 ther so that fire will not spread. 

 Do not burn the leaves off the ground, 

 but leave them to furnish plant 

 food and humus to the soil 



3. In arranging a contract for cut- 

 ting specify clearly what trees are 

 to be cut and what left. Do not leave 

 it to the contractor to decide this. 

 Do not cut a tree just because it will 

 split up easily or can be worked up 

 quickly. Use up first all material 

 which is not saleable for any other 

 purpose. 



4. Leave the young, thrifty trees ol 

 the best species to grow into valuable 



timber. Leave merchantable saw 

 timber for cutting into lumber when 

 needed. Leave all young growth for 

 the future crop. 



5. Save from two to six trees per 

 acre of the more desirable species 

 for seed trees. Seed trees should be 

 healthy specimens with good large 

 tops, reaching above the surrounding 

 trees if possible. Do not select 

 worthless trees, but rather ones that 

 are now merchantable and that will 

 be just as valuable or still more so 

 in ten years time, when they have 

 sufficiently seeded up the area. 



6. Cut all dying trees and all dead 

 trees, standing or down, if sound 

 enough for fuel. This not only utili- 

 zes waste material but removes a 

 great risk from insects and fire. 



7. Cut all up tops and defective 

 and broken logs, after logging, all 

 lodged trees and broken small trees, 

 and all timber used in skidways and 

 other logging operations. 



8. Cut suppressed, dead-topped, 



