8 FUTURE FORESTRY IN IOWA 



been cut. This is one of the many problems which must be 

 worked out. 



THE NATIVE WOODLOT 



The agricultural interests of the State have overshadowed 

 other interests to such an extent that we sometimes overlook the 

 value represented in a stand of native timber. In nearly all 

 parts of the State the original forest has given way to agriculture, 

 yet, in many parts, especially on the rough areas adjoining the 

 larger water courses, a remnant of the former forest remains. 

 In northeastern, eastern and southern Iowa areas of timber of 

 considerable extent are now to be found. These areas have been 

 invariably culled over and in many cases the stand is mostly 

 second growth timber. The oaks and other valuable timbers 

 have been cut heavily for railroad ties, fence posts and lumber. 

 In the cutting no thought has been given to the permanence of 

 the stand or resulting species. The cutting policy in these native 

 woodlands, which we may designate as "woodlots," has been 

 dictated by immediate needs only. As a result, the poorer, less 

 desirable trees, which are the last to be cut, are occupying the 

 soil. 



It is an easy matter to dictate that good trees should be left 

 to restock the land after cutting but how will this be done in 

 the face of the fact that there is little or no market for the 

 poorer species which, as a result, are not cut? As fast as the 

 commercial species are removed they are replaced largely by 

 some of their undesirable neighbors. Except in restricted local- 

 ities, little progress has been made in developing markets for 

 any but a small portion of the woodlot products. In the State 

 there is a pressing need not only to show the owner of timberland 

 how his timber should be cut in order to secure the best silvi- 

 cultural results, but also to show him how his timber, good and 

 poor, should be handled on the market to produce a revenue 

 consistent with the investment represented. 



It is true that the owner of native woodland uses the area for 

 other purposes and for timber production merely because he 

 does not go to the trouble to clear the land. In the majority of 

 cases the timberland is pastured a procedure which is disastrous 

 if the stand is to be reproduced. Grazing animals injure the 

 young trees not only by browsing the twigs and by breakage, 



