The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1945-01-11
BY Mrs. Dorothy Lee Black. Manage
Delta Council

Why more Mississippians do not think
of trees as a "crop" and do not conse-
quently cultivate and harvest trees and
timber is not an unanswerable quandary,
but it does pose al educational problem
that challenges every elementary and
secondary school, institution Of higher
learning, and economic organization in
the State. There are fifteen milli~a
acres of commercial forests and 3 n
woodlands in Mississippi that must b
perpetuated and improved by good for
estry practices; there are thousands Of
acres more in the State that should be
returned to forests for conservation OF
soil and increased supply of marketable
lumber. One program within the State
designed "to increase the value of the
tree crop to Mississippians-both to the
owners of small and large woodland
areas-and to protect the forests Of the
State so that they will be a perpetual
source of income to their owners and
to the many thousands Of Mississippians
who derive employment from the forest
industries, Is the Mississippi Tree Farm
System sponsored by the Mississippi
Forestry and Chemurgic Association.
The tree farm system was inaugural
cd in the belief that good forestry evil
dences good citizenship and is good
business. The program has the active
cooperation of the State Forestry Coun-
ell which includes all State and Federal
forestry agencies operating in the State.
For a landowner to qualify his forestry
tract as a Tree Farm he must protect
, his property from forest fires and prac-
tice selective cutting or other improved
harvesting methods. II the landowner
does qualify the property will be Off
cially designated a Tree Farm by the
Forestry and Chemurgic Association,
State Forester, or County Agent.
If, however, he is not now practicing
these recommended factors Of forest
management, he should contact the
State Forester, County Forest Ranger.
Extension Forester, or County Agent.
and ask them to look over the forestry
operations and advise on procedure to
follow so that Woo may qualify as .
! Tree Farm. This program is a practical
5 approach to preserving the valuable
forests we have and in encouraging all
: farmers to develop small farm woodlots.
The Technology, "Tree Farm, 10
particularly good Al it carries the In
|, ference of wood as a profitable crop.
] On millions Of acres of Mississippi land
. it is the only profitable crop n hund.
reds of farmers realize the profit to b
derived from forests. In the coming age
of ~plastics the cellulose production OF
. each acre of trees will near millions
of dollars to Mississippi forest produce
ers. In Southern Forestry, a recent
publication of the Illinois Central Rail-
road, this is said of tree farms: Zone
great advantage of the forest crop over
crops requiring complete annual har-
vest is the facility with which timber
can be stored in the living tree from
low-price periods to those of higher
prices. The labor requirement on a for
est farm is estimated by the u. S. For
est Service at about one man-day per
acre per year."
The Southern Forest Experiment Sta.
ton states that good management of a
farm woodland in the South is not very
different from good farming. A compli-
Gated management plan is not needed:
l.. Control forest fires. 2. Make im-
provement cuttings. 8. Build up the
saw-timber growing stock by limiting
the cut during each five-year period to
20 percent of the saw-timber volume.
A. Select and mark m~erchantable trees
to be cut and thus build up the quality
of the growing stock. 5. Cut saw-logs.
pu1puonI ond crncctioc apd coll fhap.
instead of ~stumpage, to the highest bid.
der. 6. Limit grazing.
To translate the purposes of this tree
farm program to actual practice the
Delta Council Forestry Committee in
January will sponsor a 40-hour school
in selective cutting and forest fire pre-.
v~ention. Most of the time will be spent
in timber tracts in and around Wash
ington County and will feature practical
denomination of culling and cutting
trees in accordance with good forestry
practices. W. W. Dannenberg, technical
forester, Greenville, will teach the
course to be taken by plantation opera
tors and managers. Interested persons
from the entire Delta section may at
tend the study and it is planned to car
ry the school to other sections of the
Delta. The Vocational Educational De-
partment is making the school available
and Mr.. A. L.. Andrews Of Leland will
participate. L. c. Maisenhelder, Forest
err, Delta Experiment Station, has also
offered his assistance and ~ounsel for
the duration Of the course.
A few hours will be spent in discuss.
ing species of trees, how a tree grows,
and the fundamental principles of sound
forestry practices outlined. The balance
of the time will be spent in actual field
demonstration and application
The conservation and cultivation Of
forests is as important to Mississippi as
the conservation and cultivation of it's
soil. Both are renewable resources to
which the economy of this State and
nation is tied. Particularly the Delta
must awaken to its rapidly diminishing
supply Of wood and begin at once to
better those timber tracts which it has
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