14 AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE OF TEXAS. 



ten counties with approximately 74 per cent of their total area (5,800,- 

 000 acres) in farm land, 58 per cent of which is improved, devote more 

 than 18.9 per cent (808,862 acres) of the farm area to woodlots. 



It is in the nearly treeless sections that the demand for wood products 

 becomes a pressing problem and where woodlot planting would be a 

 material help to every farmer. Local prices for wood are usually ex- 

 cessive. Fence posts and fuel are rapidly becoming more expensive 

 and difficult to secure. The woodlot can furnish such material; even 

 larger sized trees if time is allowed for them to grow. Farm soils are 

 not so valuable that an acre, or a few acres, cannot be devoted to the 

 woodlot. A well-to-do farmer can easily afford, to maintain a woodlot 

 and a poor farmer cannot afford to lose the benefits to be derived from 

 one. Difficulties encountered in planting and maturing the woodlot 

 in those sections where they are most needed are no argument against 

 planting them. Proper care in the initial planting and cultivation 

 afterwards will insure the success of the undertaking. 



No soils are too poor in plant food to support a tree. On every farm 

 are areas which cannot be profitably used for growing crops. A woodlot 

 on the farm means more acres producing revenue and fewer idle acres. 

 Plant the corners, the rocky areas and those places where erosion will 

 result if the land is. not protected. Material benefits may be derived 

 from the woodlot as well as from the garden and orchard. The woodlot, 

 if properly located, will furnish protection to stock and buildings. It 

 can be made to yield a direct financial revenue. Figures are not avail- 

 able from woodlots planted in Texas, but the profits realized in other 

 States are shown under the paragraph headed "Profit from Planting.''' 



THE USE OF WILD AND NURSERY GROWN STOCK. 



?' 



It has been pointed out that wild stock is the common source of 



supply where native trees are found in abundance. In many of the 

 smaller towns nursery grown trees have scarcely ever, been used. There 

 is a tendency, however, to recognize the better quality of trees grown in 

 nurseries and as a result commercial dealers are being called upon to 

 supply the trees for much of the city planting today. It would be 

 unjust to criticize the use of wild stock, but it is fair to say that the 

 objections to its use lie chiefly in the methods of digging and handling 

 the trees for transplanting purposes and in the large size of the trees 

 so generally used. It is important that trees not over two and one- 

 half inches in diameter one foot from the ground be used and that as 

 much of the root system as possible is secured. If the planting can 

 be done carefully and the roots not allowed to dry out during the oper- 

 ation of transplanting, much better results with the use of wild stock 

 may be obtained. Trees growing in the open are preferable to those 

 taken from shady places. The stems should be straight and free from 

 forks or branches near the ground. The top must, of course, be some- 

 what reduced before planting in order to conform to the diminished 

 root system. In most situations, however, it is undoubtedly a mistake 



