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Vol. LXXXI. 
Published Weekly by The Rural Publishing Co.. 
333 W. 30th St... Now York Price One Dollar a Year. 
NEW YORK MAY 20, 1922 
.Entered 
Ofliee ai 
as Second-Class 
New York. N. Y. 
Matter, June 26. 1S70. at the Post 
. under the Act of March 3. 1S79. 
No. 4691 
Why Not F arm t he Forest 
I have read several letters on reforest¬ 
ing the land of New York State, and I 
have thought: " U7ij / not farm the for- 
cut that u, to make the annual cut not 
to exceed the growth?” 1 myself do not 
know, but have read various estimates 
<>n the growth, varying from MOO board 
feet a year to 1,000, probably according 
In land and variety of trees. My idea is, 
after the trees reach suitable size, for 
Ihe forest farmer, one with, say 100 
acres, although 1 believe a larger acreage 
desirable, would rut. 100x390 ft., or 
MO,000, at from $20 to $40 a thousand. 
He would have from $(100 to $1,200 and 
the wood, and 1 believe with no more 
help than it would take to make the same 
amount on a grass and grain farm. I 
also think, to carry out the idea further, 
that 20 to 40 acres of cleared land on 
which to grow forage for the team, and 
a garden and eovv for family use, would 
only he reversing what now is the rule, 
from MO to 200 acres of cleared land to 
grow the money crop, with from five to 
20 acres of wood for home use. Why 
not let the woods grow the money crop 
on the poorer ami more run-down lands 
on the hills of New York, and till the 
best land that gives best returns? 
1 have written this because I believe 
it to offer at least as good a living for 
the hill farm, with less worry or risk. 
Also, there need not be more money in a 
portable sawmill and wood saw than in 
a grain drill and binder, Ati engine 
could he hired as cheaply its rt (brasher 
outfit. 1 would like to see it tried out. 
New York. A. It. Parsons. 
A YOUNG COUNTRY. — The idea 
presented by Mr. Parsons' letter 
is one which has been the dream <>f 
many men in this country, but has 
been worked out by very few. In 
Europe it is actually fulfilled in many 
ctises. Some day, as our country gets 
older and more fully developed, we 
shall undoubtedly have examples of 
well-managed forest areas. In fact, if 
we don't, we shall follow China, which 
is tin example of a nation suffering for 
lack of Sufficient forest area. Our 
country is still new. Even in old New 
York State there are many areas 
which are scarcely past the pioneer 
stage. It is probably for that reason 
that we have only begun to think of the 
possibilities of organizing for forest 
production some of our less desirable 
land, such as we find in the hill 
counties. 
LOOKING FORWARD.—To do so 
requires time and a long look ahead. 
The owner must have faith that he or 
his family will find it worth while, 
and that the lumber products which 
can he produced on his land can be 
disposed of to advantage. Too often 
the owner is discouraged by the idea 
that any plantings which he starts 
will never In* harvested until after his 
death. Strangely enough. I have found 
that, the majority of men who are 
vitally interested in forest planting are 
those who are past MO years of age. 
They have seen so many years fly by 
that time does not seem so formidable 
«s it does to the younger men. Further- 
Second Growth Red Oak in Tioga Count g, Y. Y. Fig. JSC 
White Fine Grown in Lifetime of Man Standing Reside It. Fig. 287 
more, they have seen great forest 
areas denuded and noted the subse¬ 
quent rise in value of remaining stands 
of timber. Streams which formerly 
flowed during all but the driest seasons 
had dried up. Industries which had 
been dependent upon the timber or 
perhaps the water power had given 
place to deserted mill sites, and the 
villages which had grown up around 
them dwindled away. The bulk of the 
population had been forced to seek new 
fields of endeavor. To those who 
have given thought to the problem of 
our wasted forest areas it assumes a 
national importance. 
PLANNING TIIE WORK.—To or¬ 
ganize any area for forest production 
presupposes some formi of a working 
plan under which tlie forest property 
is to be actually managed for a long 
period of years. A working plan is 
capable of presenting in concise form 
the condition of the existing forest 
areas. As far as possible it should 
contain detailed figures showing the 
contents in cords and hoard feet. 
Usually a working plan is recast at. 
least every 10 years. This gives the 
operator an opportunity to revise his 
ideas with regard to the growth of 
certain species, and supplement that, 
by carefully measured sample plots. 
There is also the opportunity to adjust 
the form of management to local mar¬ 
ket conditions and to any unusual cir¬ 
cumstances. such as loss through wind¬ 
fall. insect infestations and fungus 
diseases. 
C O L L E G F. WOODLANDS.—The 
woodlands of the New York State Col¬ 
lege of Agriculture at Cornell Univer¬ 
sity. containing approximately 100 
acres of scattered plots, were organized 
under a working plan prepared in 
1914. which will continue in effect 
until the Spring of 1923. It was esti¬ 
mated that the annual growth of hard¬ 
wood timber on these wood lots is 
equivalent to 0.4 cords per acre. On 
100 acres the college expects to cut 
approximately 40 cords of hardwood 
per year. Resides this, the white pine 
was estimated to he growing at the 
rate of 7,230 board feet per year upon 
the entire stand, or approximately 72 
hoard feet per acre per year. There 
is comparatively little white pine 
within the woodlots. 
T lMBER PROSPECTS.—Ordinarily 
a cord of wood may be expected to saw 
out approximately 500 board feet of 
lumber. This depends upon the size 
of the timber, its straightness and its 
solidity. Much of the hardwood was 
over-mature and some was in generally 
