26 THE WOODLOT. 



retain them for their beauty. The majority of such owners haye care- 

 takers, who, like the farmer, can deyote odd days and hours to work 

 in the woods. Many, too, can easily afford to inyest money in im- 

 provements which will not yield returns for a long time. In any 

 case, forestry for such owners is common sense, since the yalue and 

 usefulness of their land larg-eh^ depends upon the condition of the 

 woods, whether the property is to be held permanently in the family 

 or sold. For the same reasons country and sporting- clubs and cities ' 

 and towns should practice forestry. 



For Avater companies forestry" is yirtually compulsory. They buy 

 land primarily to keep off undesirable occupants. As a rule they 

 prohibit grazing, and the land is not tilled on account of the manures 

 and fertilizers which must accompany- agriculture. Unless forest or 

 fruit trees are raised, the land lies idle. Moreover, if the watershed 

 is entirely wooded, the best possible natural conditions exist for the 

 protection and regulation of the water which feeds the reseryoirs. 

 The practice of forestry by a water company is a far-sighted business 

 polic}^, because an}^ money invested in improvements, as in planting 

 up waste places or in thinning young growth, will be returned with 

 interest in the increased value of the property and in the present and 

 future sale of the wood. The water companies or municipal water 

 boards of New Haven, Conn., Hartford, Conn., Middletown, Conn., 

 and Clinton, Mass., are practicing forestr}^ to-da}'. 



There are two classes of owners for whom forestrj- is not always 

 practical. Forestry would not be recommended to a lumberman or a 

 wood dealer if he had no intention of holding the land after cutting as 

 a permanent investment, and could not realize a higher price in selling 

 it in consequence of its having been lumbered b}^ other than destruc- 

 tive methods. Forestrj^ may not be advisable for owners who live 

 at a distance from woodlands acquired by inheritance, foreclosure of 

 mortgage, or otherwise, and which they are prepared to sell when- 

 ever a fair price can be obtained. Forestry has most to ofer when 

 property is regarded as a permanent investment. It can be applied to 

 small tracts with the greatest certainty of profit when a resident owner, 

 with the necessary intelligence and good judgment, is prepared him- 

 self to undertake or direct the Operations. Even for those whose 

 interest in woodland is only speculative, the question of forestry 

 always deserves consideration, for the prospective value of the future 

 crop may be a matter of decided interest to the purchaser, though to 

 the seller it is a matter of no direct concern. 



