The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1936-07-14
OVER FOURTH OF EUROPEAN
ACREAGE CULTIVATED. FOR.
FARM FORESTRY PURPOSES
Profitable Growing Of Trees no More Complicated Than
Other Cash Crops Much Forestry on Co.
operative Basis

produce saleable timber, but most
of them. use the forest yield for
their own use. Fleetwood is espe-
cially important, and is used in
especially designed cook stoves or
heating stoves. These prevent the
heating of "all outdoors" which
seems to be the common failing
of the chimneys and flues on our
own fireplaces and stoves, An
other common practice over there
is the use of pine needles and
leaves for stable bedding which is
afterward taken out and spread
as fertilizer. Sometimes partially
rotted leaves and litter is raked
Up and used directly as fertilizer.
This latter practice, however, is
not to be recommended except TO
a limited extent on flat land for,
as people who live in the noun
tains here can appreciate, when
ever the forest litter is removed
or destroyed by fire, the rams
run off rapidly from the hillsldes,
causing erosion, the danger OF
floods is increased and there is a
slowing down of tree growth. The
practice of removing litter from
the forest is being curtalled IN
Europe.
THRIFTY YOUNG
TREES SAVED -, :,
The European farmer is aided
in intensive utilization of his
wood by the great demand-to the
extent of using small twlgs and
branches for fuel. Even the roots
and stumps are dug up and used.
In the United States there has
been such an apparent. abundance
of wood that far too little thought
is given to close utilization and a
common practice has been to cut
down and use for fleetwood the
best young trees which would have
grown into saleable product, in
stead of using limbs, tops or the
crooked, knotty trees for fuel
wood or other farm use. 1t re-
uuires a little more work, 1t is
true, to use the limby, crooked
trees on the farm but cutting can
usually be done in winter when
there is little other farm work.
Incidentally, removal OF the
crooked, big topped trees makes
room for the better young trees
to grow more rapidly.
There has grown up almost an
instructive fear in Europe of vast
ing anything grown from the
land. With an average of $40
people to each square mile they
know that there are no new iron
tiers for them to open up and that
their existence must come from
the home fields. ....-.. 49,. q,
European countries once faced
depletion of resources and with
increase in population had to cor
rect the situation. Out of this has
grown so deep a conviction of the
need for conservation that today
each farmer endeavors to pass
his land on to his son in as good
or a better condition than when
he received it. For manv years
they have faced the realities of
conservation of natural resources
which we are beginning to face in
this country.
America has reached the cross
roads, where Europe stood more
than a century ago. They took
the course which today has placed
Europe on an economic basis of
conservation and profitable utili-
cation of natural resources. China
took the other fork in the road
which has meant famine and flood
and the near bankruptcy of her
Farm and forest resources.
European methods should not
be copied in full, but after all it
is only plain horse sense to bene-
fit by the lessons of another peo-
pie who at one time were wasting
their soil and forests much as we
have done in this country, but
have learned the meaning of the
intelligent conservation and use
of natural resources - Farmers
Federation News. - =,