The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1938-04-05
Extension Forester Graeb-
err Explains This for
Henderson Farmers
By r. w. GRADER
Forester N. c. State College


Bv r. w. GRADER
Forester N. c. State College
The heavy demands for pine
pulpwood in the south has served
TO focusc attention on the best
method Of cutting timber ON farm
Woodlands. Vast quantities Of
pulpwood have been and are be-
inc. cut from farmer-owncr TIM
bcrIands without any definite
plan for future growth or later
crops.
Hovsa Henderson county farm
or cuts his timber may be per
sonaI question, yet it IS of vital
importance to the county as
whole. Henderson county has 3D.
1875 acres of farm woodland. This
is IL per cent of her entire farm
acreage. The economical future
of both her agricultural and her
industrial development IS depend
cnt to Il large degree upon the
size and quality Of the timber
harvest from these forest acres.
From such viewpoint, how a
Henderson county farmer cuts
his timber crop become Sd vital
public question. Success IN TIM
| Der farming depends mainly upon
two factors:
/. How the owner protects his
forest from fire, mad
2. How he uses the axe and
saw. or allows them to be used, IN
! his timber. A slight error in judy
ment here often means no profit
and much damage TO the timber
and the productive capacity Of the
land.
HOW ARE YOU TAKING
YOUR TIMBER HARVEST
There are two methods Of har-
vesting the timber crop TO perpc-
tuatc the forest stand by natural
means and provide for continuous
or future crops:
|. Sced-trce cutting, or cutting
out all Understandable trees except
Il few for seed trees, and
z. Selcctivc tree cutting, or
harvesting Il timber crop by Sc
Letting the trees Individually.
Both Of these are recognized
standard methods, but the Ques-
tion is: Which is the better prac-
ticc for the Henderson county
farmer from the standpoint Of
sound farm economy? How are
you taking your timber harvest?
COMMON SEED-TREE CUT
TING UNECONOMICAL
The Sced-trec method usually
calls for the cutting Of all mcrr
charitable timber except a Spcci-
fled number Of seed trees per
acre and then wait until nature
has grown another crop, thus
starting again with bare land.
There are many reasons why this
method of cutting timber is UNI
economical for farmers. Most Of
the objections will be obvious to
the layman as well as the farmer.
Among them are:
/: The long wait between TIM
Der crops and periods Of money
income. If Henderson county
pines arc cut for pulpwoOd by the
sced-tree method, the farmer will
have to wait 20 to 80 years for
the next crop. depending upon the
species Of pine, quality Of land,
and the protection from fire.
2. The uncertainty Of natural
reseeding for the next crop. Re
seeding usually requires from 3 to
10 years at best, often longer.
Heavy cutting Of pines opens the
way for the rapid incoming Of
oaks, gums, myrtle or other hard
wood trees or shrubs, which re-
tard or prevent pine reproduction.
). Good seed trees are often
not available. Clear cutting for
pulpwood is often done before
the timber reaches Il seed bearing
age, thus no choice seed trees are
available.
4. The rate of growth for fu-
ture crops is greatly reduced. The
amount of growing stock, or CAPT
tai in the woods bank, is 50 re-
duced as to make a fair growth
impossible. Therefore, the an
nual supply of plant food and
moisture is lost.
There are cases, however, I'M
der certain conditions of forest
type and Of ground cover where
1t may be desirable to cut clean
and plant the land with small
trees of choicer species.
/ LIGHT SELECTIVE TREE
CUTTING METHOD
This method calls for cutting
lightly and frequently, and thus
harvest successive crops of timber
at short intervals. 1t means to
maintain on the land good stand
of trees of different ages as
growing stock, or capital in the
woods bank. 1t means that young
timber crops are starting while
the other crops are maturing,
quality seed were urged to find
ont their nearest source of supply
before it is too late. County
. 1pnptc mill l., o,lo i - H. IL