STATUS AND VALUE OF FARM WOODLOTS. 37 



young, sound hickory and. oak except when removed to improve the 

 stand or to make way for cultivation of the land. Usually, too, these 

 and many other species can be sold at prices which make it unwise 

 to use them for fuel. It is better to make the farm firewood out of 

 the species that are less salable. 



Lumber. — It is probable that much more of the lumber used in 

 farm buildings is bought in the general market than is sawed from 

 woodlots. A considerable amount of woodlot material still goes 

 into buildings, however, especially in the newer agricultural regions. 

 It is here that the economy of the woodlot appears to good advan- 

 tage. At times when farm work is not pressing, as in the winter, the 

 farmer can saw enough of his trees into logs to make the required 

 amount of lumber, haul them to some nearby mill which does " custom 

 sawing," and have them manufactured into lumber for $3 or $4 per 

 thousand board feet. Since at certain seasons of the year the men 

 and teams of the farm are apt to be free from other work, the cost 

 of the labor involved is a negligible item. The saving may thus 

 amount to as much as two-thirds or three- fourths of the cost of even 

 the lower grades of lumber available on the general market. 



As a rule, however, the woodlot affords only a small amount, if 

 any, of the kinds of lumber which ought to go into buildings. It is 

 common to find farmers putting various hardwoods into barn lum- 

 ber. The loss is a double one. Hardwood lumber is much less 

 adapted to building than softwood, like pine or hemlock. The work 

 is harder and the building less satisfactory. At the same time some 

 of the hardwoods are especially fitted for uses for which softwoods 

 can not be employed, and when markets are available the farmer may 

 be able to sell his best hardwood logs or lumber at a high price, more 

 than sufficient, possibly, to pay for the amount of softwood lumber 

 needed. Where the market for hardwood material is poor, however, 

 and even in some cases when it is good, the possibility of utilizing 

 idle teams may justify the farmer in putting his hardwood logs into 

 building lumber. When the woodlot contains softwood timber the 

 saving is unquestionable. 



PROTECTION. 



If trees on the farm gave no wood for home consumption and none 

 for sale their value for protection and shelter alone would often be 

 great enough to justify their preservation. In the Northern States, 

 where cold winter winds are a source of discomfort or damage, the 

 woodlot goes a long way toward increasing the comfort of farm life. 

 Even when leafless, a small woodlot will break the force of a strong 

 wind ; and in summer, when the leaves are on the trees, the obstruc- 

 tion to wind is much greater. Both live stock and crops benefit from 

 protection against hot, drying winds. 



