The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1892-08-19
PROFIT In FORESTS.
ONE WAY OF MAKING WORN OUT
FARMS PAY FOa THEMSELVES.

TO Mature, but Some May De Cut Early.
A good many people who would like to
live ON farms of their own in summer
months are deferred from purchasing forty
Lr eighty acres by the fact that there seems
TO be no way of getting any interest out of
ile capital invested. A good deal has
Leen said recently about the abandoned"
farms of New England, and the low prices
at which they have been and are offered
for sale have attracted many longing eyes
from the city's hot shops and close count
ing rooms.
IF could see any way of making even
the interest out of one" said q New York
commission merchant the other day, 'l'd
buy n fifty acre farm, repair the old house
on it or build plain one and turn my
family loose there every summer. There
would be 10 need then of keeping the
children well dressed, as one las to do
even in o country hotel or boarding house,
and no bills to pay, except for food and
servant or two But the very fact that
these farms are cheap is due entirely to tho
poor quality of the soil. If farmers could
make wheat and oats and stock pay well
on these lands they would not abandon
them. / have no time to farm any way,
and to employ others to do it for me wonld
be throwing away money, if the soil was
as rich as the Mississippi 'bottoms'"
Nov, what this man wants." said On
enthusiastic student of forestry, ''is knowl-
edge of some crop which, once planted,
will take care of itself for q hundred years;
pay him some interest on his money while
it is coming to maturity, if he gets his
land cheap to begin with; and ut the end
of forty years be worth moro than fifty of
the original farms. Such crop is to DO
found in forest trees"
Forest treesp' exclaims tho New York
er. "Do you take me for Methuselahs
Before fifty years are over l will be en-
gagged in other pursuits than money MAX
ing, theologians tell me-"
you don't need to wait fifty years." is
the answer of tho forestry enthusiast.
"rhey don't wait that long out west, where
forestry is being carried ON to some extent
already. There q men plants his prairie
wood lot with various kinds of trees, some
of them quick growing varieties, others Of
the slower sort. lie plants them close to-
gethcr for several reasons. Ono reason is
that the trees may force their way sky
ward before spreading out. Forest trees
are mcstlikc in their proportions generally.
Each seeks to spread its foliage in the sun
light above it's fellow. Plant the same
kind Of tree IN an open field and it spreads
its branches out from the Grst. Sunlight
is all around it and there is no reason for
exertion. This tree il moro symmetrical,
on the whole, but not nearly SO valuable
for timber Gs tho long, bare trunk of tho
forest tree.
Another reason fer planting them close
together ia that they may bc thinncd out
with profit 90 they grow. In u few years
the owner begins TO cut out his small trees
and sell them, to be made up into barrel
hoops. Az they grow larger, thSS gro in
demand for hop poles. Larger still, they
make fcnco posts and ere wanted for wood
pulp in the paper mills, and then the re-
mainder ere far enough apart TO be let
alocc to grow into stout timber. This crop
CT E:nall stuff, for hoops, poles, etc, does
not cease ct any time. 1t Keeps coming
up, year after Year, among the bigger
trees.
Tho secret is to make the right choice
of trees. Probably tho most valuable sort
are black walnut, wild rcd cherry and
white csh. There will always DC n dc
mand for these woods in the manufactures
and the supply grows steadily less. Tho
other day q man bought u tract CT forest
land in one Of the southern states and sold
one big ''curlcd' walnut tree en- it for ri
most half 60 much 40 he paid for the place
One hundred dollars is rot an unusual
price ct present iCr q big black walnut
tree of the ordinary variety. In parts CT
Illinois tho carly settlers cut up black wal
nut for fence rails. Some years afterward,
when the rails had rotted away, the farm
ers were grubbing up the stumps and sell
ing the Cnarlcd roots at u handsome profit
A farmer in this CT q neighboring state
who las many wild cherry trees on lis
land need not worry much over grain end
root crops. Spectators will como out
from this city and pay well for the priv
ilegc Of cutting lis trees fer him end car
rying them away.
80 that it takes no argument to prove
that fifty acres Of such wood is q fortune
in itself, equal to n life insurance policy for
the owners children and n source of con.
stand pleasure, some profit and little cS-
pcnse to him while he lives 1t can be
realized on, too, at any time after the trees
begin to approach maturity. Hickory and
butternut are 10th valuable woods, and
/ the nuts from these trees are always sala.
| bic.
"Thc demand for Christmas trees also
| grows yearly. Canadian forests arc now
\ being drawn on for New YOrb's supply.
ION George N0ndcrhilt's purchased place
in North Carolina forestry is going 10 be
carried on in n large and intelligent way.
I lie possesses Gn advantage over prairie
/ farmers in having a large part of his t. ct
covered with trees already, but lie proposes
/ to show that, contrary to the accepted idea
of treating woodland, it is not necessary il
order to make money out of it to destroy
/ the forest. New York Tribune.
Doing His Fest.