UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



DEPARTMENT BULLETIN No. 863 



Washington, D.C. 



Issued September 30, 1920 

 Revised March, 1930 



FORESTRY LESSONS ON HOME WOODLANDS 



By Wilbue R. Mattoon, Extension Forester, Forest Service, and Eewin H. 

 Shinn, in charge, Agricultural Instruction, Office of Cooperative Extension 

 Work 



CONTENTS 



Page 



Introduction 1 



Sources of information 2 



Community survey 2 



Illustrative material 3 



The home project 3 



Topic I. Forest trees and forest types 4 



II. Protective effects of forests 9 



III. Location and extent of farm wood- 



lands 12 



IV. Growth of trees and forests. . . 13 



Topic V. Forest reproduction 15 



VI. Forest planting 16 



VII. Protecting woodlands,... 17 



VIII. Improving woodlands by cutting 



them 21 



IX. Products from the home wood- 

 lands 24 



X. Measuring and estimating timber.. 25 



XL Using farm timber 27 



XII. Marketing timber 29 



INTRODUCTION 



It is essential that our people become better acquainted with the 

 importance and value of the many forest tracts of small size con- 

 stituting our farm woodlands. The uses and commercial value of 

 different kinds of trees, the management of a tract of woods, and the 

 action of trees in checking soil erosion and modifying climate should 

 be common knowledge to an intelligent people. Much can be done 

 to enlighten the general public as to the importance of such matters 

 in our elementary and rural high schools. If the subject of forestry 

 is properly taught, the interest of school children can be actively 

 aroused and their support enlisted. 



The intelligent management of the home forest is now of recog- 

 nized importance in good farm management. Forestry has a defi- 

 nite and valuable relation to farming. The farm requires timber 

 for building and repairing as well as wood for fuel. Trees are 

 needed on farms for the protection of soil against erosion, for the 

 shelter of livestock and crops against dry winds of summer and cold 

 winds of winter, for the beautifying of the farmstead, and in general 

 for the comfort of man. The home of many of our game animals 

 and birds is in the woods. 



The lessons which follow present the subject of farm forestry 

 from the standpoint of the important local kinds of forest trees and 



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