Show small woodlots hold key to future timber supply by BAUKHAGE news analyst and commentator washington I 1 have aust had an interesting conversation with R E mcardle of the forest service of the department of agriculture and I 1 have discovered that im one of the people that the united states of america has to look to for its future lumber supply my father took up some of the last of the government forest land that was available in the southwest that little plot along with the other privately owned timberland straggling over the map of the U S makes up three quarters of all the timber there is to in the country only one fourth of our forests are public property and three fourths of this three fourths is composed of small wood lots which aver age 60 to 70 acres further more much of it is not part of a farm being be ing worked by an experienced farmer A great deal is owned by people who don dont t live on the wood lot at or near it like me and many of whom also like me wouldn 4 be able bauo baukhage act to tell a tooth pick from a telephone pole if it merent tor for their size worse still many farmers own ing woodlots with valuable stands of timber on them don t know how to get their money moneys s worth from that land or how to keep the wood ed acres contributing to their livelihood as the rest of their farmland does in other words growing timber in this country has become to a large extent a side issue I 1 am glad to report after telling yon you all this bad news that both the government and the lumber industry are trying to do something about this situation for the general as well as tor for the individual good for example in 1937 the crossett lumber company gave the govern ment 1680 1 acres of typical second growth stands in southeastern arkansas I 1 cant can t go into the pro gram of experimental work that has been done there but there is one item that affects our story R R reynolds of the forestry service went to work on 40 acres of this araa area he did the things any farmer can learn to do to a similar woodlot last year reynolds reported eight annual cuts which averaged a marketable value of more than a year and he had as much volume as when he star started of course everybody chasn t rey know how but the govern ment is helping to spread that know how through its re presenta tives or through state eions so is private enterprise flon florida da teaches youth forestry fundamentals thirteen years ago florida for example began a forestry training camp for her future farmers of america members on august I 1 of this year some members of the attended a two week camp at camp 0 leno about 60 miles west of jacksonville where they were taught in the forest fundamentals of good forest tices cices the first week was for begin ners who had had no previous for estry background the second week was for those who had attended a previous camp during the first period they were taught fundamentals of gum farm ing how to secure naval stores such as turpentine and rosin from slash and long leaf pines how to identify the commercially valuable trees and their use how to farm forests as they farm cotton and other crops how to protect their woodlot woodlots from fire how to thin their stands of trees by cutting out the crooked diseased and aad other trees to allow the healthy ones room for more rapid growth how to make seed beds grow tree seed lings in the second week the lads were put through more training in advanced principles with emphasis on actual work in the forest they fought a fire to learn the correct procedure they marked trees in a plot esti mated the board footage in a stand mg ing tree cut it down sawed it into lumber and measured the lumber as a check against their previous estimates they were taught how to chip trees in gum farming and how to market the gum 1 they were even put through a law en course which stressed fighting the in the woods they were shown how to detect clues for purposely set fire fires what evidence to collect and their rights under the law health and recreation are not neglected in these camps and at the end of the two week period the boys go home enthusiastic ready to practice on their thear own woodlands they take the message to their parents of course and make a re port to the organizations to which they belong briefly they have gained a fundamental knowledge of the value of trees and how they can be grown for profit during the time florida has run this camp they have aver aged boys a year which means some 1300 1 have been in in the fundament fun damen atals of forestry today many of these graduates are leading citizens of their communities and many are growing trees for profit p program dogram extents to other states nor is florida the only state tak mg ing an interest in this new think ing regarding regard ng trees and youth alabama arkansas georgia loul siana north carolina and virg ma nia staged similar camps this year or 4 11 club members were the lucky youngsters depending on which group the state forestry agency is operating cooperating co with at the time the purpose of course Is not to turn out foresters that would be impossible in two weeks but camps can build up an effective in terest in growing a cash crop by growing trees this year more than youths from the seven states attended these camps with all expenses paid by the forest industries this is where private industry has stepped nto the picture on the modern theory that our future timber supply must come from what we grow not as in the past from what we found on the land the southern pulpwood association composed of southern pulp and pa per industry members with the co operation of th southern pine as pioneered in financing these and similar camps the sum total of this whole broj act adds up to this industry has joined forces with state agencies to interest youth in becoming sue tree farmers of america and to turn to account what has been up to recently a wasteful sideline on the farms a sideline which must supply an important part of america americas s current and fu ture vital lumber needs an florida teaches the fundamentals ot of good forestry to youth at annual summer camps trammel green nurseryman for the florida forest service Is shown here instructing two boys in preparation of a seed bed here they are spreading pine straw over the freshly planted seed as a protective measure |