STATUS AND VALUE OF FARM WOODLOTS. 25 



forests. On the contrary, it may signify a closer utilization of 

 branches and small or inferior trees. 



WHAT THE WOODLOT PROMISES FOR THE FUTURE. 



Since anything which benefits the farms contributes to the general 

 prosperity, the woodlots must be considered a national asset from 

 both the direct and the indirect standpoints. It is of manifest 

 advantage to have maintained throughout the country small bodies 

 of timber not only to supply the local demands for wood, which will 

 increase as the existing large bodies of timber decrease in amount, 

 but also as a possible factor in preserving good climatic conditions, 

 in checking the sweep of winds, preventing the undue washing of 

 soil, and in contributing an object of variety and beauty to a land 

 surface a large part of which would otherwise be bare and monot- 

 onous. As a supply of wood products for local consumption wood- 

 lots have lessened the drain on the general markets fed by the large- 

 scale lumbering operations and have contributed much of the raw 

 material used for veneer, vehicle, cooperage, and handle making, 

 paper, pulp, and excelsior manufacture, wood for fuel, and other 

 important uses. 



The future of the woodlot can be predicted with some degree of 

 assurance. It hinges principal^ upon the attitude which the farm- 

 ers will take. Except in New England and a few smaller regions in 

 which raising timber in woodlots is already an important source of 

 farm income, most farmers are still prone to regard their woods as a 

 transitory asset to be realized once only when the land is finally 

 cleared. As agricultural development proceeds, the decrease in the 

 aggregate area of farm woodland is bound to continue ; but a reduc- 

 tion in the rate of decrease can be expected as the farmers come to 

 realize more fully the advantages of owning thrifty woodlands. The 

 inaccurate and misleading conception of the woodlot as only a 

 temporary asset will yield to an increasing appreciation of it as a 

 growing crop, like any other farm crop. Eventually, a relatively 

 stable condition of woodlot area will probably be reached, which may 

 vary locally according to local demand and supply, but for the 

 country as a whole will tend to remain fairly constant. Farms in 

 hilly or mountainous regions, having larger proportions of untill- 

 able lands, will also have larger woodlots than those in level country : 

 but even the latter may be expected, considering their nearness to 

 manufacturing centers, to have moderate amounts of woodland of 

 high producing value. 



With proper treatment, it is not unlikely that the woodlots now 

 existing could be made to yield perpetually an average of half a 



