Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1918-01-10
IMPORTANT POINTS
FOR THE WOOD LOT

prepared by the United States DEPART
ment of Agricultural
/. Dead and dying trees should be
removed. This not only utiliZes mate
rial which is fairly dry, and which
would otherwise be wasted, but lessons
the danger Of fire.
,. Good sound straight logs ordi-
narily should not be used for fuel
since they are more valuable for lum
Der. There is a great difference be
tween the prices paid for logs Of diff
ferent grades, even of the same kind
Of wood. Branches, crooked and de
cayed logs, trunks broken in telling or
otherwise defective, should be used for
freWOod.
3. Trees likely to be attacked by
insects or fungi should be removed to
safeguard those which remain. In
eastern New England, for example,
the gypsy moth is a serious enemy of
the aspen, Eastwood, beech, gray and
paper birch, bOxelder, serviceberry,
dwarf and staghOrn sumac, tamarack,
glauc0us willow, witch hazel, and prac-
tically all the native oaks. Several of
these species are Of little value and
can well be removed, thus reducing the
food available for the insects. Where
the chestnut blight is serious, the
chestnut should be largely cut.
4. No portion Of the woodland
should be cut clean unless the owner
has carefully considered the matter
and decided that that particular part
is best adapted for farm purposes or
that he will replant it with forest
trees. Old trees, where they predomi-
nate, should be gradually removed.
since they are not increasing in value
The DeXt generation Of trees will be
largely determined by those which are
left for seed. The successful dairyman
studies his records as kept by the cow
testing association, sells his less profit
able cows and breeds those which are
producing the greatest amount of but
ter fat. In the same way the success
full woodland owner will study the
growth and uses of the different kinds
Of trees. He will then cut out those
of little value and slow growth and
keep for seed purposes those which
Will produce valuable lumber in a rel
atively short time
To secure a second growth of bet
ter trees, several things must be borne
in mind: (a) Too large openings
should not be made, because the
ground will dry out and weeds, like
berry bushes, will come in and crowd
out the young trees. For this reason
it is often a good plan to leave some
of the inferior trees for shade. CD
Some trees, like the oaks, hickories
and beech, have heavy seeds or nuts
which cannot be transported any dis
lance except by animals or birds, while
others like the birch, maple, ash and
Eastwood have light seeds which are
carried long distances by the wind.
For this reason more frequent seed
trees of the nut varieties are necessary
10 get good stocking of young trees.
,. Woodlands made up of nearly
cven-aged stand Of second growth are
more comparable to the garden than
TO the dairy. Here the problem is TO
remove the weeds as a means of get
ting a quicker yield of timber. The
small, stunted trees are the weeds,
since they can never make a normal
growth. The large, healthy trees
should be favored, because they will
grow rapidly to maturity. They are
not to be confused with the mature
trees in the old woodland, though in
general the same species will be IA
vored in both cases.