Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-04-14
WttminQtOn.
The Wood Lot.
Read by James II. Walker before the Spring
Held Grange.

Read by James Il. Walker before the Spring.
held Grange.
A thickly wooded country affords no susie
nance to man. and is nearly incapable Of
sustai ming animal life. In the early settle.
ment of our country it was necessary for the
inhabitants to fell the forests and clear tho
land in order to put in crops for the support
of themselves and families. They destroyed
the forests to save themselves. The destruction
Of forests came to be a habit, and has been
handed down from father to son. 1t is
said that the Yankee boy is born with an ak
on his shoulder, and has a natural capacity
for destroying trees, but no taste for their
cultivation The only beauty the woodsman
discovers in tree is the dollars and cents
it contains.
Now while wood and timber are becoming
more scarce and command ready cash, more
consideration is being bestowed upon the
wood lot, and it is question of practical
Importance how to derive the greatest annual
income from this portion Of the farm, and
not cause it to deteriorate and thereby cut off
our future supply. In European countries
the forests are made to pay a handsome in
come to the land owners, and labor is ntelli-
gently and systematically applied to tree
culture, while our wood lots are ruthlessly
cut down and destroyed with little apparent
thought or care for our future supply.
Where land is to remain permanent forest
two ways may be practiced in cutting timber
lots. One is, to cut the wood off clean in
belts or strips, and trust to the sprouts and
surrounding forest to reseed the land. 1t is
estimated that land thus cut over will grow
cord of wood per acre in year, aud if cut
again IN thirty years will give thirty cords
| per acre. OF course there will be no large
timber trees grown in thirty years. 1t takes
long time to grow them. A future supply
of timber may be preserved better by the
second method OF cutting which is to select
the mature trees, cutting all that are begin.
ming to fail, and such wel-grown timber trees
as are most valuable in the market taking
care in telling to do as little damage as pos
sible to the standing timber.
Wood lots that are intended to remain as
such should be thoroughly fenced so as to
exclude all horses, cattle and sheep. The
less valuable kinds of wood should be cut out
or pulled up while young and not be suf-
fered to grow tothe detriment of the better
timber trees, If too thick, they should re-
coive judiciOus thinning Many forest trees
will richly pay for pruning their struggling
branches Labor in the wood lot, if judi
ciOusy applied in thinning, trimming and
removing the less valuable kinds Of trees
will be found to be good Investment, We
cannot afford to grow hcmlock and scrut
spruce, when chestnut, oak, hickory, butter.
nut, Eastwood, ash, beech, maple and white
pine can be grown as we'll Many wood lots
contain thick growth Of these evergreen'
which so completely shade the ground thai
no deciduous trees will spring up, or if they
start at all make but sickly growth and
die, while many of the eVergreens, being SC
crowded, die while young, and those living dc
not mako profitable growth. These evergreen
thickets should be thinned out for fence poles
or fire wood, leaving some of the best trOe'
to make timber, This would give an oppor
tunity for the better kinds Of trees to come
in. Our wood lots have cost US money
they are assessed as highly as other portions
Of our farms. We cannot afford to lose the
interest on our Investment, and pay the taxei
on them, and receive no profit but our yearly
fire wood. live can cut quantity of wood
or few thousand feet of lumber and haul il