Literature.
Bruncken, North American Forests and Forestry, G. P. Putnam & Sons ; Gifford, Practical Forestry, D. Appleton & Co.; Green, Principles of American Forestry, Wiley & Sons ; Green, Forestry in Minne sota, published by Minnesota Forestry Association ; Roth, A First Book of Forestry, Ginn & Co.; Sar gent, Forest Trees of North America, Report of Tenth Census ; Forestry for Farmers, United States Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin No. 67; Forest Planting and Farm Management, Farm ers' Bulletin, No. 228. The following bulletins of the Forest Service (formerly the Bureau of For estry) of the United States Department of Agri culture, are selected from a long list of helpful bulletins : Forest Growth and Sheep Grazing, No. 15; Forestry Conditions and Interests of Wisconsin, No. 16 ; Experimental Tree-Planting on the Plains, No. 18; Osier-Culture, No. 19; A Primer of For estry, 2 Vols., No. 24; Practical Forestry in the Adirondacks, No. 26; Practical Tree-Planting in Operation, No. 27 ; The Forest Nursery, No. 29 ; The Woodman's Handbook, No. 36 ; The Woodlot, No. 42; The Planting of White Pine in New Eng land, No. 45 ; Forest Planting in Western Kansas, No.52 ; The Natural Replacement of White Pine in New England, No. 63.
Practical Protection and Improvement of the Farm Woodlot.
Most of the woodlots on American farms have been mismanaged or unmanaged. One of the serious problems facing the farmer today who sees his wood-supply rapidly diminishing is how to treat his mismanaged woodlot. Before entering into a discussion of this, however, it is well to call atten tion to the factors involved in the proper care of a woodlot. The first of these is protection from harm; the second is the actual improvement of the crop.
Protection.
Protection of the woodlot is fundamental, for without it planting, pruning and thinning amount to nothing. The two most important phases of this subject are protection from fire and from the graz ing and browsing of animals.
Protection from fire.—In dealing with fires, as with ailments of the body, an ounce of preven tion is worth a pound of cure. For this reason, farmers would do well to examine into the con ditions which surround their woodlots, to ascer tain whether the liability to fire may not be lessened by a few simple and inexpensive pre cautions. For example, a woodlot which borders
on a public road may be protected by a cleared strip along the road ; for a great many fires start from a or lighted match which is tossed aside by a passing smoker. Such cleared strips, or "fire lines" as they are called, should be cleaned up once or twice a year by burn ing at a time when the fire will not spread, or by raking back the leaves and other inflammable material that may have accumulated. The cost of such a precaution is insignificant in comparison with the loss from a fire in the woodlot. Fire lines are also useful between woodlots, if the neighbor ing property is not well protected. (Fig. 470.) Another inexpensive preventive measure is the posting of fire notices. A great many persons, and especially boys, start fires because they are thought less. A notice posted in a con spicuous place will often make t h e careless more thought ful.
When a fire is set, prompt ness in begin ning to fight it is the most im portant consid eration. As soon as it is discovered, all hands should go to the place at once. A few minutes' delay may mean the loss of timber that it has taken years to grow ; it may mean the loss of farm buildings and haystacks as well.
The method of fighting fire varies greatly with circumstances. Sometimes a good thick brush is used to beat it out. Sometimes rakes and forks come in handy. When the soil is light the most effective method is to shovel earth on the burning material. Nothing is effective against a top fire, except a back fire ; but top fires rarely occur in farm woodlots.
Protection from grazing and browsing.—Cattle, sheep, goats and hogs should not be allowed to run in young growth, nor in old growth when repro duction is desired. Many of our broad-leaf trees are eaten greedily by cattle, which also destroy many seedlings by treading on them. It is difficult to bring about a satisfactory combination of pas ture and forest. From the time the young trees have lifted their branches out of reach until the reproduction time comes round, grazing does little harm. The same is equally true of deer, moose and similar animals.