6 



months. Wood cut in October and November, therefore, may be 

 burned the latter part of the winter. 



Formerly it was common practice to have wood cut by contract 

 for from $1 to $1.50 per cord. With the present high price of labor, 

 however, the cost may exceed $2 a cord. The great difficulty in 

 securing farm labor is during the harvesting period. If farmers can 

 secure sufficient labor to harvest their crops, they should be able to 

 keep enough men to cut and haul wood later in the season. In fact, 

 the profitable employment of one or two extra men on the farm 

 during the winter may help to solve labor difficulties during the rush 

 season. 



Hauling wood costs from 50 to 70 cents per cord per mile, 1 according 

 to the cost of teams. The winter employment of teams reduces their 

 cost for other farm work, and with the present high price of grain 

 this is an important item in all computations of farm-labor income. 

 Assuming the cost of cutting as $2 per cord and of hauling as 50 cents 

 a mile, Table 2 indicates the distance which wood may be h.auled 

 while giving a profit of $2 a cord to cover stump age value: 



Table 2. — Hauling distances that allow a profit of $2 per cord of wood sold at various 



prices. 



Miles. 



$4.00 '... 



6.00 4 



8.00 8 



10.00 12 



12.00 16 



14.00 20 



OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE THE WOODLAND. 



The prices which cordwood will likely bring this year- offer an 

 opportunity for the farmer to improve his woodland. Improving the 

 woodland means weeding out the poorer trees. In the past this has 

 seldom been practicable, for the inferior wood was not marketable. 

 With wood bringing only from $4 to $5 a cord, there is very little 

 opportunity to secure a profit of even $1 a cord. But with the prices 

 indicated for the coming winter, thinnings become practicable over 

 a wide range of country in the vicinity of good markets. 



Some of the things to remember when cutting in the woodland are : 

 1. Dead and dying trees should be removed. This not only 

 utilizes material which is fairly dry, and which would otherwise be 

 wasted, but lessens the danger of fire. 



1 New Hampshire Col. Agr., Ext. Press Bui. No. 77. The Fuel Situation, by K. W. Woodward. 



