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Show LEAVES' from 1 hrr; s-.-Vfo. HARR1ETMAY WILSON; The Farm Woodlot It is a trifle surprising to be told that practically one-third of all the forest land in the United States is in farm woodlands, yet such is actually ac-tually the case. Such woodlands are for the most part small and scattered, scat-tered, yet they comprise some of America's best forest lands. Properly handled, the farm wood-lot wood-lot is of almost inestimable value to the farmer. W. R. Mattoon, extension exten-sion forester in the U. S. forest service, says that "Timber is a savings sav-ings bank. The trees are the capital capi-tal or principal; new growth is the interest. Each day the interest is added and the cashier can not run away." The farm woodlot, properly forested, forest-ed, provides wood for fuel, fencing, and often for building; moreover, it produces a cash crop in the form of sawlogs, piling, pulpwood, posts, and cross ties. Too often the farm wood-lot wood-lot is neglected and becomes merely mere-ly a tangle of undergrowth and fallen fall-en trees, through which the new growth must struggle as it reaches for the sun. Such management is wasteful. To get the best results from his woodland, the farmer should handle it according to the best practices worked out by trained and experienced foresters. Information Infor-mation in this field may be secured from state forestry associations or from the bureau of forestry, U. S. department of agriculture, at Washington, Wash-ington, D. C. CONTINUOUS GROWTH No timber should ever be cut haphazardly hap-hazardly but on the contrary, with careful consideration of its continuous continu-ous production. Not everything that is salable should be cut; at least five or more seed-producing trees should be left, per acre, as well as plenty of young trees as the nucleus for another crop. If the timberland has been neglected, it will need thinning. The least valuable kinds of trees should be taken out, just as a dairyman weeds out his less productive pro-ductive cows. So, also, should all down timber and all crooked or crippled crip-pled or stunted trees. Such thinning thin-ning will permit the tall, well-formed well-formed trees to grow and develop until they are fit for use or market. If the timberlot has been taken care of, cutting will consist of taking out trees of market size and leaving younger stock to mature. KEEP TIMBER LAND PRODUCTIVE It has been well said that "one of the outstanding reasons for the present pres-ent low farm income is the large number of practically idle acres" and certainly many a farm support 10 or 20 or more acres of idle land in unproductive timber lots. Yet timberlands, when rightly handled, can be kept producing yearly crops with cash value. USING TIMBER INTELLIGENTLY All wood placed in contact with the ground, such as sills, stable floors, gates, fence posts, and so forth, shquld be creosoted before being be-ing used. Such treatment greatly extends the life of the materials, thus saving the farmer money not only for new materials but for labor in replacements and repairs. For posts it is advisable to use only the more durable woods such as black locust, redwood, white oak, chestnut, chest-nut, or sassafras. Wood which has been cut for fuel should be carefully seasoned. Seasoned Sea-soned wood makes more heat and saves trouble and inconvenience in the house. To season it rapidly, rick it up in long narrow piles where sun and wind can dry it out and protect it from rain. Freshly cut timber that is to be used for posts or as poles in building, build-ing, should be peeled, to further the seasoning process and as a protection protec-tion against insect attack. It is well, also, to paint the ends of logs, to prevent injury by checking. MARKETING YOUR TIMBER Harvest your own timber crop, rather than to sell it standing, if that is possible; otherwise, sell it under a written contract. Naturally, before selling, you will obtain reliable, reli-able, up-to-the-minute prices, particularly par-ticularly local prices. Often timber may be sold locally to good advantage advan-tage because transportation costs are thus saved. PLANT A WOODLOT It will give you shelter from cold winds, shade from the hot summer sun, wood for the fireplace, posts, poles, and timber for building, and, in due time, a cash market crop. Fo- further information, send five cents to Superintendent oi Documents. Washington. Washing-ton. D. C tot each oi the following publications pub-lications or Bfteen cents for ail : The Farm Woods, leaflet No. 29; Cutting the Farm Woods Prohtwise. leaflet No. SO, and Farmers' Bulletin No. 1660. STURDY OLD SASSAFRAS At Keswick in Virginia stands a great sassafras tree, 18 feet, 4 inches in circumference, five feet from the ground probably the largest larg-est sassafras tree in the country. Some years ago the tree was a hollow hol-low trunk, broken off at the top and apparently dying. Someone built a fire in the interior and, though the fire was quenched, it was assumed that it must have killed the tree. However, what the fire actually did was to kill the bugs which were sapping its strength. |