STATUS AND VALUE OF FARM WOODLOTS. 29 



forests, or areas managed by stable and long-lived corporations. 

 Such forests can be located only in nonagricultural regions, or at 

 least in regions in which soil for practicable cultivation is confined 

 to small and widely separated areas. Usually these forests will 

 combine the functions of timber raising with those of watershed 

 protection, recreation, and other purposes. Incidentally, they may' 

 serve, like the woodlots, as means of ameliorating the climate of 

 regions lying to the leeward. 



In farming regions adjacent to public forest areas, the large sup- 

 ply of available timber will make farm woodlots of relatively minor 

 importance compared with those farther from the large forests and 

 closer to manufacturing centers. In such situations, the woodlot 

 will more than ever be relegated to the poor farm lands which can 

 not be used to advantage for other purposes; but as compared with 

 existing woodlots in mountainous regions, the value under future 

 conditions of demand and supply will probably be a sufficient incen- 

 tive to the care and practical management of even the mountain 

 woodlot as a valuable farm crop. 



The solution of the problem of timber production in the East will 

 undoubtedly be a combination of all the classes of ownership above 

 outlined. Each one has its distinct place, and the private or com- 

 munal woodlots as a source of many kinds of timber for many uses 

 will serve to fill varied local demands and thereby reduce the drain 

 on the larger bodies of forest. 



THE WOODLOT AS A FARM RESOURCE. 



The value of woodlots to farms includes not only the direct in- 

 come value from the wood products which are or might be produced, 

 but also a variet}^ of indirect benefits, such as the protection of stock, 

 crops, and buildings from sun and wind, prevention of soil erosion, 

 renewal of worn-out soils, improvement to the appearance of the 

 farm, etc. Thus a woodlot may at the same time increase the gen- 

 eral prosperity of the farm, add to its comfort as a home, and en- 

 hance its value as an investment. In some parts of the country the 

 indirect uses, though not measurable in dollars and cents, are even 

 more valuable than the direct wood-producing function of the wood- 

 lot ; but, since they are more or less intangible, farmers are likely to 

 neglect them in deciding whether to preserve or clear away their 

 woodlots. 



The farmer has a permanent interest in his property, and it is to 

 his advantage to increase its value both as a present home and as an 

 inheritance for his children. In both respects a farm with a well- 

 tended and well-proportioned woodlot is worth more than one with- 

 out, over and above the stumpage value of the trees themselves. It 



