53 



PART III. PLACE OF WOODLANDS IN FARM 



MANAGEMENT 



195. The length of time that it takes to grow a crop of 

 timber keeps many owners from practicing forestry. Al- 

 though they consider timber a profitable crop, they think of 

 the harvest as too far in the future to be of any interest to 

 them. This attitude comes from looking at only one side of 

 the question. It is true that it takes a long time, in some 

 cases more than a hundred years, to grow a crop of timber; 

 but it is also true that the average owner does not have to 

 start with the bare ground; he starts with a stand of timber, 

 some of which is mature and ready for the market; and with 

 very little or no curtailment of his immediate profits, he can 

 improve his stand so as to increase future profits. The con- 

 ditions are like those in a store that is partly stocked. The 

 store-keeper may improve the quality of his stock and 

 increase its size and continue to sell goods in the meantime. 



196. The timber crop has its place in farm management. 

 Nearly every farmer needs lumber for bridges, fences, cribs, 

 and barns, and cord wood for fuel. If he produces this ma- 

 terial on the farm, he not only saves himself the inconven- 

 ience and expense of bringing it from a distance, but he 

 makes the profit involved in its production. 



197. There is a great deal of complaint about the scar- 

 city of labor on the farm. Indeed there is a movement to 

 import foreign laborers into some of the Southern States. 

 Such a movement can give only temporary relief. Tne final 

 solution must be sought for in other directions, and one of 

 these is provision for employment throughout the year. 

 Steady employment is one of the first conditions of getting 



