1292 



Canadian Forestry Journal, September, 1917 



What the Woodlot Means to the Farm 



By Roland D. Craig, 



Commission of Conservation. 



Woodlots on the farms can be 

 made an important factor in the re- 

 Hef of the threatened fuel shortage. 

 Farmers and the residents of smaller 

 towns and villages situated within 

 hauling distance of woodlots, should, 

 as a measure of practical patriotism, 

 use wood in preference to coal. 



Few farmers realize the value of 

 the crop which can be obtained from 

 their woodlots. If even a small pro- 

 portion of the attention given to 

 other crops were devoted to the 

 protection and improvement of the 

 "bush" a good financial return could 

 be secured. Aside from its value in 

 affording protection against wind and 

 storms, its importance in the con- 

 servation of soil moisture and its 

 aesthetic value, the woodlot has a 

 considerable value for the crops which 

 can be harvested from it every year 

 at a minimum expense. It should 

 have a place on every farm. 



Live stock should be excluded as 

 they destroy the natural reproduc- 

 tion, injure the larger trees and pack 

 the soil so that the growth of the 

 trees is retarded. Defective and dis- 

 eased trees should be removed first; 

 then those of poor form, such as 

 very crooked or very branchy ones 



whi.h interfere with the growth of 

 better formed neighbours. The trees 

 of the less valuable species such as 

 dogwood, ironwood and hornbeam 

 should then be removed. Every ef- 

 fort should be made to secure natural 

 reproduction, but, if that be im- 

 possible, planting will be found profit- 

 able. 



The tendency has been to encour- 

 age the growing of soft-woods suitable 

 for lumber, such as pine, spruce and 

 cedar, but the function of a farmer's 

 woodlot is better fulfilled by produc- 

 ing hardwoods for fuel. 



The fuel value of one cord of sev- 

 eral of the common kinds of wood is 

 equal to the following quantities of 

 anthracite coal: 



Hickory and hard maple 1,800 to 

 2,000 lbs. of coal; white oak, 1,540 

 to 1,715 lbs. of coal, red oak, black 

 oak and beech, 1,300 to 1,450 lbs. 

 of coal; poplar, chesnut and elm, 940 

 to 1,050 lbs. of coal; pine, 800 to 

 925 lbs. of coal. 



Therefore, hardwood is worth, to 

 the owner of the woodlot, from $6.00 

 to $9.00 per cord, as compared with 

 coal at $10 per ton, plus the cost of 

 hauling it out to his farm. 



