420 



forest destruction. By 1890 over 2,500,000 acres more were cleared, of 

 which 75,000 acres became waste laud. The timber supply of the East 

 was falling, the demand increasing. Then Indiana ranked fifth with the 

 states of the Union in the total output of lumber. Iu 1907 she ranked 

 twenty-seventh. 



At the present time there are probably less than a million acres of 

 woodland in the State. This fact shows us the truth of the prophecy made 

 twenty-five years ago that "At the present rate of consumption the forests 

 of the State must soon cease to be commercially important." Very little 

 now remains of the once seemingly inexhaustible supply of valuable tim- 

 ber, such as oak, walnut and yellow poplar. 



Formation and Evolution of the Woodlot. — It is with this small re- 

 mainder, especially that portion which lies in the central part of the State, 

 that this paper deals. Formerly the farmer removed only the timber on 

 the land he actually needed for agricultural pursuits. Gradually, as his 

 needs increased, he extended the boundaries of his fields. The trees which 

 he removed more than furnished him with firewood and other necessary 

 timber. But when a market was opened up the owners began to cut the 

 still vast forests for purely financial reasons. These became more and 

 more exhausted until now very few acres of virgin timber, and compara- 

 tively few of any kind, remain. The farmer is at present apparently sat- 

 itfied with his acreage of cultivated land, good timber is too scarce for 

 extensive clearing or sale, and he is willing that a small portion of his 

 farm should remain covered with a more or less depleted forest in order 

 to provide wood for general purposes about the farm. These are the chief 

 reasons for the presence of a woodlot today. Some timber was left be- 

 cause it was difficult to reach. Other tracts were left because of the pas- 

 turage they afforded in the grass which sprang up when the dense forest 

 cover was partially removed. So, for one reason or another, or purely 

 by accident, certainly not from choice, the woodlot of today occupies the 

 position it does, oftentimes on the best land of the farm. 



Present Conditions. — To get an idea of the present condition of these 

 woodlots one need only travel a few miles in the country. In the distance 

 he can see trees in a seemingly unbroken line. Closer examination, how- 

 ever, shows them to be in small, scattered patches ten to thirty acres in 

 extent. After the best trees had been cut out and sold, the custom of cut- 

 ting trees for special uses, such as handle stock and spoke material, led 



