12 



acres which is occupied by the remains of the original forest, consist- 

 ing of a scattered stand of declining sugar maple and beech trees. 

 This timberland embraces the most fertile part of the farm, and inter- 

 feres most seriously with the convenient and economical division of 

 the farm into fields. If the Forest Service had advised the owner 

 to attempt to rejuvenate the dying trees and to underplant them with 

 expensive nursery stock, the instructions would have been implicitly 

 followed, but such advice would have wrought a positive injury to the 

 landholder. Instead, the planting plan advises that the forest area of 

 the farm be reduced by clearing the only natural timber left standing, 

 and that, instead of retaining the scattered growth now cumbering 

 the pasture, trees sufficient to occupy about half the present forest 

 acreage be planted in such positions as to protect the farm from the 

 severe westerly winds prevailing in the region. 

 The owner was therefore advised as follows : 



(1) The major part of this farm is too valuable for agricultural 

 purposes to be devoted to forestry. The native timber now scattered 

 over the pasture is rapidly declining, and is reduced by every hard 

 storm. No natural reproduction is taking place, and while the land 

 is grazed none can be secured. The location of the scattered trees in 

 the middle of the farm would require expensive fencing in order to 

 protect them from live stock. Thus, it is believed that the rejuvena- 

 tion of the old forest on this farm is impracticable. Instead, this 

 land, as soon as the old trees have all disappeared or been removed, 

 should be laid out into permanent fields. As every well-regulated 

 farm, however, should possess some timber land to supply it with 

 fence posts and to furnish shade and shelter for live stock, new plan- 

 tations are recommended. The trees will take up as little room as 

 possible, while the arrangement of the fields in rectangular blocks 

 will greatly facilitate the use of modei'n machinery. 



(2) The chief plantations should occupy strips 5 rods wide, run- 

 ning from north to south. One of these strips should be planted on 

 the western border of the farm and another crossing its center due 

 south of the residence. A third should cut oflf the block extending 

 east from the southeast corner of the main rectangular tract. In 

 addition to these strips, it is advised that single rows of trees be 

 planted on the division lines between the fields, so that they maybe 

 used as live posts upon which to fasten wire to form fences. (See 

 fig. 1.) 



(3) Black walnut and hardy catalpa should be used in equal pro- 

 portions for the belts, and should be planted every 4 feet in alternat- 

 ing rows, which should be 6 feet apart. The walnut seed should be 

 planted two years prior to the introduction of the catalpa seedlings, 

 in order to allow the slow-growing walnut to get a start before being 



228 



