SECTION XLIX. THE TIMBER CROP
Forest trees are not usually regarded as a crop, but they are certainly one of the most important crops. We should accustom ourselves to look on our trees as needing and as deserving the same care and thought that we give to our other field crops. The total number of acres given to the growth of forest trees is still enormous, but we should each year add to this acreage.
Unfortunately very few forests are so managed as to add yearly to their value and to preserve a model stand of trees. Axmen generally fell the great trees without thought of the young trees that should at once begin to fill the places left vacant by the fallen giants. Owners rarely study their woodlands to be sure that the trees are thick enough, or to find out whether the saplings are ruinously crowding one another. Disease is often allowed to slip in unchecked. Old trees stand long after they have outlived their usefulness.
The farm wood-lot, too, is often neglected. As forests are being swept away, fuel is of course becoming scarcer and more costly. Every farmer ought to plant trees enough on his waste land to make sure of a constant supply of fuel. The land saved for the wood-lot should be selected from land unfit for cultivation. Steep hillsides, rocky slopes, ravines, banks of streams—these can, without much expense or labor, be set in trees and insure a never-ending fuel supply.
Fig. 222. Wood Lot
Before proper treatment
The most common enemies of the forest crop are:
First, forest fires. The waste from forest fires in the United States is most startling. Many of these fires are the result of carelessness or ignorance. Most of the states have made or are now making laws to prevent and to control such fires.
Second, fungous diseases. The timber loss from these diseases is exceedingly great.
Third, insects of many kinds prey on the trees. Some strip all the leaves from the branches. Others bore into the roots, trunk, or branches. Some lead to a slow death; others are more quickly fatal.
Fourth, improper grazing. Turning animals into young woods may lead to serious loss. The animals frequently ruin young trees by eating all the foliage. Hogs often unearth and consume most of the seeds needed for a good growth.
Fig. 223. Wood Lot
After proper treatment
The handling of forests is a business just as the growing of corn is a business. In old forests, dead and dying trees should be cut. Trees that occupy space and yet have little commercial value should give way to more valuable trees. A quick-growing tree, if it is equally desirable, should be preferred to a slow grower. An even distribution of the trees should be secured.
In all there are about five hundred species of trees which are natives of the United States. Probably not over seventy of these are desirable for forests. In selecting trees to plant or to allow to grow from their own seeding, pick those that make a quick growth, that have a steady market value, and that suit the soil, the place of growth, and the climate.