528 SUCCESSFUL FARMING 



immediately started at the correct distance. The question is often raised, 

 "Why is not nature's method followed and seed scattered broadcast on 

 the soil?" The answer is this: It has been found after repeated experi- 

 ments that broadcast seeding is not only extremely expensive on account 

 of the high price of seed, but the results obtained are decidedly uncertain, 

 owing to the activity of squirrels or field mice and the frequent drying out 

 of the seed. Placing young seedlings in the ground six feet apart is more 

 certain and cheaper in the long run. Planting six feet apart each way, an 

 acre containing 1210 trees can be planted at a cost of $7 to $10, depending 

 on price of labor and whether seedlings or transplants are used. 



If the woodlot has been very much run down as a result of injudicious 

 cuttings, excessive grazing or repeated fires, it may be desirable to plant 

 under the openings with fast-growing, shade-bearing species. In this 

 case it is desirable to first make as heavy a thinning as circumstances 

 will permit, and then, after the timber has been removed, plant the open 

 spaces immediately with the chosen species before grass and weeds take 

 possession of the soil. Underplanting a run-down woodlot of broad-leaf 

 trees with four-year transplants of spruce or pine is a splendid way of 

 injecting new blood. The trees will cost about one cent each in the ground, 

 and from three to four hundred per acre is generally sufficient. 



Financial Results. — The best measure of the success of any farm 

 activity is the financial yield obtained, and it is safe to say that the 

 difficulty in marketing the forest crop and the long waits between 

 receipts are largely responsible for the slight attention paid the woodlot. 

 Forest management must be financially profitable before it will be accepted 

 by the farmer. 



At the present time forest products are not sold as easily as grain, 

 potatoes or fruit, and this fact often causes discouragement. While the 

 average farmer will scan the market reports very closely to find out the 

 prevailing price for his field crops, the same man is apt to sell the standing 

 timber on his woodlot to the first mill owner who offers him real money. 

 If the selling of forest products can be simplified and the farmer can be 

 assured a reasonable return from his non-agricultural acres, it is certain 

 that the practice of forestry by the individual owner will advance rapidly. 

 These small holdings are destined to play a more important part in supply- 

 ing local timber markets in the coming generation, but it is necessary that 

 proper marketing facilities be provided in order that the owners receive 

 a fair return. 



When an offer is made for "all the timber on the woodlot," great care 

 should be exercised before it is accepted. Such a sale usually results in 

 parting with the cream of the trees at a meagre price and leaving the land 

 in the possession of forest weeds, for the local mill man generally "skins 

 the lot." It is far better to designate by axe marks the mature trees and 

 those that should be removed for the good of the remainder, and thus sell 

 a known amount at a fixed price per thousand board feet on the stump. 



