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Woodlot That Pays — Part 2

Bulletin 42 of the Bureau of Forestry, 1903, is "A Handbook for Owners of Woodlands in Southern New England." It is full of practical, every-day advice for practical, every-day men. It is based on extensive investigations in this region. It urges that the following steps be taken:

I. Thinning in woods not yet mature to improve the conditions for growth, and to utilise material, much of which would otherwise be wasted.

II. Cutting in mature woods in such a way that the succeeding growth will follow quickly, will be composed of good species, and will be dense enough to produce not only trees with clear trunks, but also the greatest possible amount of wood and timber.

III. Pruning which is only practicable under certain special conditions.

IV. Protecting forest property against fire and, in some cases, against grazing.

V. Re-stocking waste land by planting, or sowing.

These are practices that fit any region and any woodlot. Under them, a forest is returned to health and efficiency of production, from a state of poverty wherein every cutting harms rather than improves it.

"The virgin forest" is often understood to be a synonym of the best possible stand of timber. In fact, Nature is a wasteful forester, as all second-growth woods show when left to themselves. Such a forest as the state of Saxony grows for paper pulp reminds one of a field of grain. The spruces stand, tall and slim and close, and without a weed, bearing at eighty years a tree crop beside which a patch of second-growth trees here would look like volunteer grain come up by chance in a fallow field. Gradually we shall come to imitate the European foresters and demand of our forest lands the highest possible yield and quantity of timber.

The following suggestions are for the correction of abuses that commonly keep woodlots in a bad condition. Not one of them is hard to follow:

1. Don't let the woodlot be grazed. Browsing destroys young growth, gnawing injures older trees, trampling packs and hardens the leaf mould, kills seedlings and prevents seed germination.

2. Don't burn the wood's floor over. It destroys the rich leaf mould, main food of trees; it causes the soil to cake and dry; it injures the old trees and kills the young ones; it makes inroads of fungi and insects easy.

3. Destroy dead and dying trees and rubbish. They are full of diseases that infect sound timber. They harbour insects. They invite and spread fires.

4. Remove gnarled and otherwise imperfect trees that overshadow young growth.

5. Take out undesirable kinds of trees and give better kinds their places.

6. Plan to have a tree fall so as to injure as little as possible the surrounding trees. "Brushing out" around a tree and its final fall often destroy its natural successors.

7. Cut with low stumps. This is economy, and with trees that sprout from the stump it gives the sprout close connection with the root system which in time becomes its own.

8. Make smooth, slanting cuts for stump reproduction. If the cut is ragged (through wood or bark) or trough-shape, it accumulates water which induces decay. Sprout timber after such cutting is mostly unsound at the butt, and useless except as fuel.

9. Plant young trees raised in the garden or transplanted from the woods in open spaces in the woodlot.

10. Sow seeds of desirable kinds where they will improve the stand. Pick up white-oak acorns and walnut and hickory nuts, push them into the leaf mould, one here, one there, and step on them. Treat thus the thinly planted parts of your woods. It takes thought but very slight expense of time or work, to do a great deal of this supplementary forest planting.

11. Leave seed trees of good kinds, when cutting logs or cordwood. They will save you a great deal of work.

12. Plant waste land with trees. On almost every farm is some land that is non-productive. It may wash in rainy weather. Or it may be too rocky to plough, or too sandy, or have too much clay. It will always grow trees. Stop trying to farm it. Let Nature clothe it and make good soil of it. It will add to the value of the place in the eyes of any prospective buyer, in addition to the timber it produces. It will convert a blemish into a beauty spot.

13. Study local lumber markets. Is there a pulp mill or a tannery in your neighbourhood? Then spruce and hemlock are paying crops. Poplars and basswood bring good prices at paper mills. Birches pay near a toy or spool factory. Hickory and ash are in great demand in vehicle and implement factories. Walnut, maple, oak and cherry bring good prices where furniture is manufactured. Fuel commands good prices near large cities; so do Christmas trees. In a newly developing country, telegraph poles, fence posts and railroad ties are in brisk demand. Pine and many other staple lumber trees are a safe crop at any time.