THE PRACTICABILITY OF FORESTRY. 25 



awav much valuable youn^- growth, when they could save it with 

 scarcely any extra trouble — often, indeed, with none, since some men 

 '• brush out*^ around their work more from habit than from necessity. 

 But this destruction of 3'oung growth will stop as soon as the woods- 

 man can be made to see its value and to take a deeper interest in the 

 future of the woods. 



Not every owner of woodland in southern New England can apply 

 all the methods of treatment discussed in the foregoing pages. The 

 land of some owners is located at such a distance from a market that it 

 will not pay to practice forestry upon it at all. Other owners can use 

 only some of the proposed methods. Holders of woodland to whom 

 forestry is most necessary, and who can secure the most satisfactory 

 results, are farmers, owners of country estates, water companies, 

 sporting and country clubs, and cities and towns. 



Nearly every farmer owns a home woodlot, from which he gets his 

 own supply of posts, rails, and firewood; often he has additional land, 

 from which he cuts wood for the market. As he expects to cut suc- 

 cessive crops of trees from this land, he should make every acre of it 

 produce as much wood as possible. The average sprout forest grows 

 at the rate of only 0.6 to 0.7 cord per acre per annum; and on account 

 of the excessive crowding, many of the trees are crooked and unfit 

 for poles or ties. Bv using forestry, the actual annual production 

 of wood per acre can not only be raised from 20 to 40 per cent, but 

 the quality of the wood can also be correspondingh^ improved, for 

 the reason that most of the trees will be straight. The farmer can 

 obtain more and better wood from his tract, and by improving his 

 woodland enhance the sale value of his farm. The market value of 

 scrubby open forest is certainly less than that of a dense growth, that 

 of Biich less than that of Oak and Hickory, and that of old pasture 

 less than if the land were timbered. The farmer has, therefore, a 

 strong incentive to care for his woods. Moreover, he is in position to 

 use careful methods not practicable for man}^ other proprietors, 

 because lie can employ odd days and hours in working in his woods. 

 The farmer has the additional advantage of a knowledge of trees, so 

 that he can be his own forester. If he should give the same stud}^ and 

 thought to the treatment of his woods that he does to his cornfield, 

 there is no reason why his woodland should not be brought to a high 

 state of productiveness in a short time. Young growth may be thinned 

 when necessiry; waste places upon the farm may gradualh^ be planted 

 to young trees; and the old woods ma}^ be cut according to the methods 

 of reproduction cuttings herein recommended. 



Owners of tountr}^ estates usualh^ maintain woods as private parks 

 and as sources of supply for fuel and timber. They do not wish to 

 cut their land dear, but to improve the woods by thinning and plant- 

 ing and, as the "-.rees become mature, to utilize them gradually or to 



