34 MISC. PUBLICATION 162. TJ. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



eminent, for the purpose of establishing field windbreaks, shelterbelts, 

 and farm woodlands on denuded or nonf orested lands. 



Farm Forestry 



About one-third of the forest land in the United States is in farm 

 woodlands. These are mostly small and frequently isolated, and 95 

 percent of them lie east of the Great Plains. Because they comprise 

 some of the best forest lands, their productive possibilities probably 

 average as high as those of any class of timberland in the country. 



Properly handled, a farm woodland is in most cases a valuable asset 

 to its owner. Besides the salable products it may produce, such as 

 sawlogs, piling, pulpwood, posts, and cross ties, it will provide its 



F-55996, F-202858 



Figitee 18. — Farm woodlands. 



A, A South Dakota prairie farmstead protected from the prevailing high winds of 

 that region by a windbreak of planted trees ; B, 50-year-old white oak timber in 

 an Ohio woodland. 



owner with wood for fuel, fencing, and the many other needs of the 

 farm. This means a saving in the outlay of money for the upkeep of 

 the place, as well as a tangible income such as may be derived from 

 any other farm crop. The woods may also utilize and make produc- 

 tive parts of the farm not suitable for other crops, that is, the rough, 

 steep, rocky, and worn-out lands (fig. 18). And the harvesting of the 

 farm timber crop is usually done in the winter, when the regular work 

 of the farmer is slack. 



It is estimated that one-third of the cut of timber of all kinds comes 

 from farms. According to late statistics, farm forest products rank 

 ninth among a total of 50 different crops in the amount of cash income 

 they produce. The gross value of farm timber products, both used 

 on the farm and sold, amounted to some $200,000,000 to $300,000,000 

 a year before the war. 



