WOODLAND. 200 



WOODLAND. 



Of all the errors in our rural economy, none is per- 

 haps so much to be regretted, because none is so difli- 

 cult to be repaired, as the injudicious and excessive de- 

 struction of timber and firewood. It seems never to 

 have occurred that the fund was not inexhaustible, and 

 that a crop of trees could not be raised as quickly as one 

 of wheat or corn. Abundant as is the timber and wood- 

 land in many parts of New-England, the period is not re- 

 mote, when a scarcity and exorbitancy of price will be 

 severely felt, accompanied with deep r grets for past 

 neglect. No provident farmers should delay silting a- 

 part for future necessity a wood lot, duly protected, and 

 to guard the second growth of timber against the rav- 

 ages of cattle. 



The quantity of ground to be kept in wood, must de- 

 pend on the size of the farm ; the soil, the climate, and, 

 frequently, on the market for wood ; for, in some cases, 

 it is more profitable to keep tolerably good land in wood, 

 than in any other cultivation. Of the natural growth of 

 wood, it will require between 20 and 30 acres, to keep 

 two fires, according to the common method of usin^* 

 wood for fuel. If woods are old and decaying, the bet- 

 ter way is to cut all off, as you want to use the wood, 

 and let an entire new growth start up, which will grow 

 more rapidly. It is considered best to cut all off in this 

 way every 40 or 50 years. 



To thicken a forest, or to prevent its becoming too 

 thin, cattle should be kept out at all seasons. The 

 seeds, or cuttings of trees, of rapid growth, should also 

 be set, or planted, in every part that becomes destitute 

 of growing wood : For if Ihe sun can get in and cause 

 the ground to be covered with grass, the further growth 

 of young timber will be prevented. But grass will not 

 check the growth of locust. Perhaps the farmer will 

 jBnd this the best tree to plant ibr fuel. 



The easiest method of raising the locust is as 

 follows: Plant, 15 or 20 trees on an acre; when 

 12 or 15 feet high, run straggling furrows through the 

 ground, and wherever the roots are cut with the plough, 

 new trees will start up, and soon stock the whole ground 

 with a plentiful growth. 



