34 BULLETIN 481, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The attitude of farmers toward their woodlots probably differs a 

 great deal in different regions. Those functions of the woodlot 

 which are of most value at a given time and place are emphasized, 

 and other valuable functions perhaps not recognized at all. Where 

 agriculture is entering heavily wooded regions in which cleared 

 land is at a premium and wood is cheap, timber is likely to be con- 

 sidered only an incumbrance, or at best as a means of eking out a 

 livelihood until the cleared and cultivated land becomes sufficiently 

 productive. In long-settled farming regions, where woodlots have 

 been overcut, overgrazed, or repeatedly burned until only a few 

 defective trees are left, the farmer may prefer to save the remnant 

 simply for the shade it gives to stock or buildings, or for some senti- 

 mental reason. In prairie country, protection to grain crops, or- 

 chards, stock, or buildings, together with service as a convenient 

 supply of wood for farm consumption may cause owners to place 

 a high value on their woodlots. In mountainous regions near thickly 

 populated manufacturing centers, as in New England, the woodlot 

 may be valued for its wood-producing capacity alone. The tempta- 

 tion is to underestimate those functions of the woodlot which are 

 not obviously beneficial under the conditions existing in the imme- 

 diate locality. These less obvious functions are often the very ones 

 which are likely to prove of the greatest value in the long run. For 

 example, many of the Minnesota farmers who totally cleared their 

 lands would be glad to have their woodlots back again if only for 

 protective purposes, and farmers in the Central States already regret 

 the abuse which has spoiled their woodlots as productive agents of 

 increasing value on the poorer soils of the farm. 



It is therefore greatly to the interest of all woodlot owners to con- 

 sider thoroughly not only the present but the possible future use- 

 fulness of their timber from every point of view. Circumstances, 

 such as the need of ready cash in " hard times," may, of course, make 

 it necessary or advisable to sacrifice the w r oodlot, even though the 

 loss to the farm is greater than the immediate cash income from the 

 wood products. Clearing of excess woodlands is necessary when the 

 soil can be put to a more paying use, for cultivation, pasture, or 

 orchard. The point is that before cutting off his wood the farmer 

 should carefully weigh its value, in all its phases, against the income 

 which he can hope to make from the contemplated use of the soil. He 

 should not clear, if he can help it, unless the balance stands unmis- 

 takably against the timber. 



HOME SUPPLY. 



Most farms use yearly a great deal of wood, which must be bought 

 if it is not taken from the woodlot. Firewood, lumber, fencing, and 

 poles are the forms in w T hich the woodlot material is most used, but 



