50 STATE OP MICHIGAN. 



ber supplies and as a very considerable source of income to a very large 

 class of the population of the country has induced the Bureau of Forestry 

 to ofl'er to co-operate with farmers o^^■ning• woodlands in their manage- 

 ]ijent.* On application, the bureau offers to send a trained forester to 

 make a careful examination on the ground of the woodlot. It is the duty 

 of the forester to point out the defects of the woodlot and their cause, 

 and ho\\' they may be most quickly and economically remedied; to mark 

 sample areas, showinji Avhich trees should be removed where removal is 

 desirable, and where planting is desirable or desired ; to advise regarding 

 the species best suited to the soil and the locality. It is also customary 

 for the forester to prepare a detailed report on the conditions found, Avith 

 notes on their treatment. A copy of this report — which usually indicates 

 the management for about ten years — is afterwards sent to the farmer for 

 his future guidance. This service is free to all, but the bureau reserves 

 the right to accept or decline applications, as may be deemed wise, with 

 due regard to the objects for which the offer is made, and the limitations 

 of the funds at their disposal for this work. 



Tt is hoped that by this means it will eventually be possible to have in 

 every county, and perhaps in every township, at least one woodlot which 

 A\ ill be handled in a correct way, and which will thus serve as an object 

 lesson to the farmers in its vicinity of the practicability of woodlot for- 

 estry. A report on a woodlot examined by the writer in St. Joseph county 

 during Ihe spring of 19114 is given herewith, that tho.?e interested may 

 have a clearer idea of the scope of the woodlot work carried on by the 

 government, and that all A\ho read may get a forester's opinion of a very 

 common type of woodlot in Southern Michigan. 



*Applicatioiis should be sent to Thomas H. Sherrard, Chief of Division of Forest iWanagement, 

 Bureau of Fore.stry, Washington, D. C. 



