3. Assessment of land classified as auxiliary forest reserves at $1.00 per acre annual tax.
4. Payment by owner of 10 per cent of the value of the forest products when harvested to the county to be distributed among the proper county funds.
5. Fixed charge on auxiliary forest reserve land of two cents per acre for schools and two cents per acre for roads.
Under these provisions it is obvious that the growing of timber on suitable areas would be reduced to a practical business basis.
Providing the tax question is sufficiently settled and definite for a period of years the regeneration of the woodlot or the establishment of one may be undertaken as a safe investment. So far as Kentucky is concerned, the present tax laws and the manner of handling the assessments in the counties are not such as to bear heavily on timbered or wooded areas. In the event that a new classification of land is made and new tax laws enacted every effort should be made to bring about such a classification of forest land and such a system of taxation as will encourage the reforestation of suitable areas and the regeneration of the present woodlands.
REGENERATION OF THE WOODLOT.
When the question of the regeneration of the woodlot is seriously considered there are several points which stand out prominently as follows:
- Protection.
- Taking of stock.
- Removal of undesirable species.
- Selection of desirable species.
- Method of regeneration.
- Care and management.
1. Protection. It is essential that a woodlot shall be protected if it is to be an asset to the owner and brings him financial returns. There are two destructive agencies against which he must make special efforts, fire and stock. It may seem unnecessary to point out the various bad effects which fire and stock have on woodlands, but they are nevertheless here set forth in brief. Fire destroys timber utterly, injures it so that it is subject to insect and fungi attacks, lowers the grade of the timber, destroys or seriously injures reproduction, destroys humus and lowers the productive capacity of the soil. There is no way in which burning over a woodland improves the character of the forest. Stock have a very injurious effect on trees, especially young growth. Some stock eat up the nuts and berries and seeds which are the means of reproducing the forest. Other stock browse on the young trees which have started, destroying the young growth altogether or seriously gnawing other trees thereby leaving them badly malformed and depleted in vitality. By rubbing against small trees stock also do a great deal of harm. So stock should be rigidly excluded from the woodlot, or at least until all the trees are well developed and even then no good is accomplished. If possible, the woodlot should be well fenced. The other destructive agencies against which protection may become necessary are insects and disease. If fire and stock are excluded, the chances of insects and disease doing serious damage is materially decreased. Diseases and insects are best kept in check by keeping the wooded area clean of dead and decaying material. In case of serious insect infestation it may in some cases pay to spray the trees, but under ordinary conditions this is not practical. The common way of fighting disease and insects is to cut down and burn all affected trees.