CHAPTER VII 



FOREST FINANCE AND MANAGEMENT 



FORESTRY resembles farming in this, that both 

 operations are not conducted in a perfect man- 

 ner unless it is sought not only to obtain the best 

 possible crop a single time, but to provide for suc- 

 cessive crops at the proper intervals. The great 

 difference between the two industries flows from 

 the fact that farm crops ripen annually, while wood 

 crops can be taken from the land but once at inter- 

 vals ranging, according to the species of trees and 

 the character of the product desired, from twenty 

 to one hundred and twenty or more years. 



How is the time known when a forest is ripe for 

 felling ? It is determined by a series of considera- 

 tions, partly arising out of the natural qualities of 

 trees, partly out of financial reasons. When a tree 

 is very young it is not good for much of anything, 

 aside from such special uses as hop-poles, Christmas 

 trees, and the like, for which there is a limited mar- 

 ket. Even when a tree has become large enough 

 to furnish lumber, the wood may not be of the kind 

 which is best for generail use ; for instance, small 

 pines have too large a preponderance of sap-wood 

 over heart-wood, and the lumber made from it is 



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