The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1920-12-08
farm W0ODL0T A NEGLECTED
CROP WORTH PROPER CARE
Like Other Farm Crops the Woodlot
Must Be Well Cared forrTwo
Types That Require Difficult
Methods of Handling-Sugges-
tions for Thinning and Cutting.

I , ~ ..
Wheat. corn, and potatoes require
crop of wood that grows on the farm
woodloto requires much less care than
these others and in the majority OF
cases it is already growing on the
farm when the farmer takes the land
Doubtless this fact makes it difficult
for the farmer to- see this crop in the
same light in which he regards the
others. Any other farm crop must
be cared for or it will fail, and the
stand of wood on the wood-lot is no
exception, though the progress of de-
terloration is not SO rapid and may
extend over long period of years.
Require Different Methods
A properly cared-for woodlot will
furnish the farmer cash crop at re-
gular intervals and will always afford
supply of timber and fuel for home
use. The harvest season for the Wood
lot comes in the fall and in the winter,
and the gathering of the harvest as
slsts also in the thinning and cultiva-
tion of the crop.
an general, there are two types of
woodlots, says the United States De-
partment of Agriculture, and each of
them requires different method of
handling. The first type is character
lzed by the presence of old trees
which dominate the stand. The
second type is made up of a nearly
even-aged stand of second growth.
In the first type the old trees may
almost exclude the younger growth, or
they may exist as few scattered in
dividuals throughout the stand. Such
material is very likely to be losing
value. The way to check the loss is
to cut the old trees which have attain
ed mature growth and make room
for new stand of seedlings. A ma
ture tree should be cut for the same
reason that one cuts crop of wheat
when it is thoroughly ripened. No
dead or diseased timber should be al
lowed to stand.
A woodlot composed entirely of ma
ture trees should not be cleared at one
cuttingt The work should be carried
on IN stages with sufficient interval
between the cuttings to allow new
crop to- come up. If this method is
followed carefully, the farmer will
always have crop of wood ready for
harvest in his woodlot. When the
mature timber is removed in two or
three cuttings, the first cutting should
DC SO managed as to open up the
crown cover somewhat, so that the
leaves on the forest floor may decom-
rCse more rapidly and the termination
of the seed be made more certain. The
remaining trees become more wind
firm, and, as a result, of their crowns
receiving more sunlight, they produce
more seed. When the forest floor is
IN good condition the second cutting
IN mature woodlot can be made dur
ing the winter following heavy seed
year. Neither the first nor the second
cutting should be so severe as to al
low an abundance of sunshine to reach
the forest floor, since sunshine slim
ulates the growth of weeds and other
trash. When the seedlings are well
established and are strong enough to
shift for themselves without further
protection, the third cutting NAV be
made.
Thinning The Stand
nv the second type of woodlot,
where the farmer has an even-aged
stand of sccond-growth timber, he
may begin to harvest his crop bv
selecting, first, the undesirable species.
OFTEN in such stands, such trees as
ronwood threaten to ovcrtop, crowd
out, or damage the more valuable
species like white ash or tulip poplar.
Sprouts sometimes arise too thicklv
from the stump of trees recently cut.
or the reproduction of good species
is too dense. In any of these cases
some of the trees should be removed.
This process is Iothing more than the
wedding out of the poorer individuals