FORESTRY FOR 4-H CLUBS 21 



The grazing of livestock: This practice has much the same effect in removing 

 the protective covering and packing the ground hard as fire has. Cattle and 

 horses browse off the tender young seedlings and tramp down the upper soil 

 layers (fig. 15). Sheep and goats, particularly when closely herded, are very 

 destructive to young seedlings. Hogs feed upon most kind of acorns and nuts, 

 although by rooting up the leaf litter they sometimes favorably expose the mineral 

 soil for the quick germination of tree seeds. Hogs are very destructive to the 

 seed or mast of the longleaf pine, and the young seedlings are killed in large 

 numbers by animals stripping off the thick, sweet, spongy bark from the roots. 



Damage by insects: Leaf and inner bark-eating, twig cutting, bark- and wood- 

 boring insects. Methods of checking spread of insect infestation by right methods 

 of cutting. 



Fungi in forest trees as a source of the injury and death of many trees: Some 

 trees less subject to attack than others. Importance of keeping woods in a healthy 

 growing condition and rightly cut in order to combat the spread of fungous 

 diseases. 



Practical things to do. — Make a trip through the district to see what damages 

 occur in farm woodlands and what forest protection is practiced. Look for any 

 disease or insect which is attacking any special group of trees. Find out by 

 observation if farm woodlands are being grazed and make a note of any damage 

 that is being done by livestock. 



Protective Effects of Woodland 



Aim. — To find out how the forest or woods conserve soil moisture, check soil 

 erosion, and modify temperature. 



Sources of information. — Farmers' Bulletins 1405, 1767, and 1813; Miscellane- 

 ous Publications 162 and 600. 



Illustrative material. — The best illustrative material will be found in a trip to 

 the woods and fields. Actual examples of the effect of the trees or woods can be 

 pointed out. If a field trip is not practicable, illustrations may be clipped from 

 papers and magazines showing erosion on unprotected hillsides and the use of 

 trees as shelters in pastures and about farm buildings. 



Guides to study. — With an acquaintance formed with the different species of 

 trees, it will be worth while to learn their value both individually and when 

 associated in woodlands. 



Timber or wood products: Trees grouped according to their value for wood or 

 timber. (This is expanded in Products from the Home Woodlands, p. 25). 



How a forest cover conserves the water from rainfall or melting snow (fig. 16). 



Flow of streams from open and from forested land; seepage and springs. Pro- 

 tecting watersheds of city reservoirs and headwaters of large streams from erosion 

 and floods. State and municipal forests. The 176,000,000 acres of Government 

 national forests held for protection of watersheds and streams and for a permanent 

 timber supply. Private owners hold four-fifths of the total standing timber in 

 the United States. 



How trees protect the soil against erosion and the formation of gullies on steep 

 slopes (fig. 17). Examples of local hillsides and regions of the United States 



Woods as shelter against hot and dry or cold winds, for grain and fruit crops, 

 livestock, and for protecting the farm home. The difference in temperature of 

 the air in midsummer out in the open road or field and in the shade of a single tree 

 or of woods. The difference in the same situations on a cold windy day in winter. 



Field study. — In an excursion to the hills and the fields boys and girls can learn, 

 by actual observation, the bond between the forest and the river. 



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