Clearing the Land. 
"Karly and late about his farm he goes, 
A diligent worker with his own hard hands ; 
He plows the rolling upland, and he sows, 
And in waste places clears the wooded lands." 
The present condition of the woodlots in Tompkins 
County is but a natural result of the extravagant in- 
difference of the early settlers, and of a lack of just 
appreciation for the value of the forest. 
The clearing of the forest growth from the land 
was one of the first needs of the settler as soon as he 
had located and erected a home for his family. It was 
quite natural that the early settler should regard the 
forest as an obstacle to his progress, for he had no use 
for such a vast amount of timber, other than what would 
supply his daily needs. Doubtless this habit of 
extravagance and thoughtlessness concerning the value of 
the forests has been inherited by present generations, 
a Pact which might explain our present indifference to 
forest protection. In the process of clearing the land 
for farming purposes, a certain amount of the timber was 
converted into charcoal and potash, both of which had a 
stablo market value. However, the practice of converting 
timber into charcoal and ashes does not appear to have been 
