THE WOODLOT IN RELATION TO FARM MANAGEMENT 45 



ment and handle stock, there is practically no market for fuel 

 wood and little use for it on the farms as coal and gas are 

 generally used. This county is in a gas region and had a 

 boom about 20 or 25 years ago and considerable local natural 

 gas is still used for fuel on the farms. A pipe line from "West 

 Virginia supplies the towns with gas and some of the farms. 

 Where gas is not available coal is used, which leaves little 

 room for wood fuel, cutting off the opportunity to dispose 

 of waste wood in the woodlot. Another important point is the 

 character and high price of the land on which the woodlot 

 is situated which greatly increases the carrying charge for 

 taxes and makes it necessary for the woodlot to compete with 

 cultivated land in returns. The tendency here is to clear 

 out all the land for cultivation in order to secure the greater 

 returns yielded by annual crops. 



The locality which is chosen for the Piedmont Region on 

 the Atlantic coast is Randolph County in central North Caro- 

 lina. It is in rather a remote region of rolling and hilly land 

 fairly typical of a certain section of the Piedmont. The cen- 

 sus gives 60.7 per cent of the area as wooded and the present 

 survey 58 per cent. The population of the county is 29,491 

 and is increasing slightly. The percentage of farm homes in 

 the entire State is 55.5 per cent and has decreased but slightly 

 in the last census decade. The percentage of farm homes en- 

 cumbered is 19.3 per cent for the county, and 21 per cent of 

 the farm homes are rented. There is very little stock raised in 

 the county except that needed for home use. The wild pas- 

 tures are not of great value and most of them are not fenced. 

 As there is a stock law in force the unfenced pastures can not 

 be utilized. Agriculture in general is in somewhat primitive 

 state. The home consumption of fuel wood is large, as most 

 of the farms as well as many of the town residences have fire- 

 places. A market exists for fuel wood, implement and vehicle 

 material, but in many cases the hauling distance is too great. 



Marlboro County in northern South Carolina at the edge 

 of the "Fall line" is the locality selected for the Coastal 

 Plain. It is in the cotton belt and with very fertile land for 

 the most part. The county was once covered with longleaf 

 and loblolly pines, with hardwoods in the wetter parts. Cot- 



