176 Yearbook^ of Agriculture 1949 small-owner problems or arc willing needs. Less than half of the country's to take over the management of small total acreage of commercial forest land properties on a part-time basis. Many is in those ownership classes; the rest of those now engaged in this w^ork is in small holdings. The outstanding claim that they cannot aíTord to work importance of small forests in the with owners of fewer than about 500 private-forestry picture cannot be over- acres. Then, too, there is the under- emphasized; nearly 3 of every 4 acres standable reluctance of landowners to in ]3rivate ownership is in individual pay a fee for the services of even a holdings of less than 100 acres. - part-time technician until they have thermore, despite many exceptions, proof—on their own lands—that the those small w^oodlands arc not being cost of competent technical services is managed for continuous forest pro- fully justified. But in time there will duction. Only 4 percent of the present be more private foresters specializing cutting on small woodlands is good in management of small forest prop- enough to insure adequate future tim- erties, and absentee ow^ners, convinced ber crops. Still more disturbing is the by results obtained on nearby proper- fact that on 71 of every 100 acres of ties, wdll be willing to pay a reasonable small woodland recently cut over, no fee for technical service. Public for- plan was made for another timber crop. esters encourage such developments. That is a challenge to all of us. Important as small forest holdings are—or can be—to their owners in R. E. MCARDLE is an assistant chief yielding a substantial extra income, of the Forest Service, in charge of these small forests are even more im- cooperative work in State and private portant to the Nation. Much of our forestry. His early life was spent in present output of forest products Kentucky and Virginia. He is a gradu- comes from small woodlands. As re- ate in forestry of the University of maining virgin forests, mostly in large Michigan. Among his positions have holdings, are cut, the Nation's depend- been assignments in the Forest Service ence on small woodlands wall increase. in the Pacific Northwest, a term as All of the forest land in public dean of the School of Forestry at the ownership and all of the land held by University of Idaho, director of the large sawmill and pulp and paper com- Rocky Mountain Forest and Range panies, even if managed for continu- Experim,ent Station, and director of ous timber production, will not yield the Appalachian forest Experiment enough timber to meet future national Station.

ROOTS AND STEMS AND DOGWOOD BOLTS A. G. HALL

Good advice to the owner of a small farm forester, fortunately, before he tract of woodland is : "Stop, look, and cleared his "worthless" land for pas- know before you go into the woods ture. Instead of being a liability, the wdth your ax." netted him $40 a cord. Today A Florida farmer thought he had 60 that farmer is in the business of raising acres of quite worthless woods—spindly dogwood for shuttle blocks. pines and dogwood trees—because he Similarly, individual walnut trees, had not taken the time to find out that sometimes worth from $50 to several sound dogwood bolts were in demand hundred dollars each, are often saved by manufacturers of shuttle blocks for from the fuel-wood pile by the timely the textile industry. He consulted a advice of a county agent, extension for- and Stems and Dogwood Bolts 177 ester, farm forester, or buyer of walnut FROM THE ROOTS come quite a num- veneer logs. ber of products. Very often the landowner has to be Recently I received a request from a reminded that the plants of the for- New Jersey florist for a supply of Os- est—all plants, not just the trees—are munda , a fairly common plant in composed of many parts into which the swamps and wet woods of the East nature has placed special properties or and Northeast. The florist was seeking substances. The key to successful utili- a source of the plant because he wanted zation of these many plants is to deter- to use its roots in the making of com- mine to what economic uses their spe- post for growing orchids. cial attributes are best adapted for the , another plant of the forest greatest return. A man also needs to floor, occurs in shady, well-drained lo- know the markets and the best means cations in the hardwood forests from of producing and harvesting the prod- Maine to Minnesota and southward ucts for continuous crops. The owner into the mountains of the Carolinas of large tracts can concentrate on one and Georgia. An export trade in gin- or two products, like sawlogs and pulp- seng has existed in this country for wood, but the owner of a small more than a century; the average an- property often must supplement the nual value of the ginseng for the income from his main product with the Oriental market is about one million income from several minor products. dollars. Ginseng is now cultivated, but The best sources of information are the wild product found in the wood- the State and Federal agricultural lands is highly favored in the trade and agencies and th(^ trade associations, be- brings the highest prices. Forest plant- cause they are in the business of dis- ings of ginseng, while slower growing covering new and improved uses of than those in artificial shade, are less forest products. expensive to establish and require less Roots and stems of plants may yield attention. food, fiber, fuel, drugs, dyes, gums and root finds a limited sale at , and wood specialties. roadside stands to persons to whom the may contain oils and dyes or use of a,tonic of sassafras tea is tradi- special fibers for spcicial uses. They tional. This is a pin-money product. may have decorative value, or they may But both the root and the stem are be ideal for composting. used for the extraction of oils for the The bark may be a source of ^ flavoring of root beers and some pro- , drugs, fiber, fuel. prietary medicines. The oil is used also Flowers, besides their decorative to produce an artificial "heliotrope" value, may also produce oils. for the manufacture of perfumes. The are important for food or The -laden wood of the roots oils. They might be marketed for their of some of the southern pines, because seed or for use as decorations. of their high inflammability, reach the The forest-land owner, therefore, market as "lighter knots" or "lighter" loses nothing by taking the time to find wood. Sure to blaze when they are ex- out the full possibilities of his land, but posed to flame, they are ideal for use he stands to lose present and future in fireplaces. values if he makes a hasty move. Stumps and roots of the resinous Planning for maximum use of a species have also found a market by wooded area requires, first, a complete the ton in the South. A special process inventory, not only of the trees and has been developed for extracting the woody plants but also of the small herbs . And owners of "worked out" tur- and other vegetation that form the pentine stands have been able to real- forest understory. ize a profit from clearing out the dead Few are the woodland products that and dying trees. do not have some utility. During the Second World War, the 8()20()2°—4Í)- - ] ;i 178 Yearbook^ of Agriculture 1949 impossibility of importing the foreign old trees is usually too fine-grained and briar into this country for the manu- brittle for the purpose. Hence the facture of smoking pipes led to a re- owner of a stand of young ash may vival of an old southern industry. In often realize a considerably greater in- North Carolina and Tennessee, pipe come from the sale of ash bolts than blocks were made from laurel and rho- from logs for lumber. Before cutting his dodendron burls^ the large, abnormal ash into the short 40-inch bolts required growths of hard wood that appear at by bat manufacturers, he should check the root collar of the shrubs. At that with the buyers to determine whether time, the burls were sold for 10 to 12 his wood meets specifications. About dollars a ton. 750,000 board feet of ash is used annu- Similarly, the heavy burl growth at ally to keep baseball teams supplied. the root collar of the western manzan- A somewhat similar market is the ita was developed into pipe materials. one for handle stock. Good handles for The market for those products fell off striking and lifting tools require quali- after the war, but burl growth, because ties not often found in sawed boards. of its intricate design and generally Consequently they are produced from hard wood, has a limited market for bolts or short logs of hickory and ash. specialty items. Samples should be sent to the manu- facturers before extensive harvesting is TPIE STEMS yield items that many undertaken. of us are not aware of. Excelsior bolts cut from aspen, bass- Many trees, often individuals of a wood, cottonwood, white pine, buck- species rather than a whole stand, have eye, and some other woods find a ready special uses worth investigating be- market as packing material. In Michi- fore the is consigned to the saw^miU gan alone, chiefly in the Upper Penin- or pile of fuel wood. The veneer in- sula, 49,554 cords of excelsior bolts dustry is particularly interested in these were marketed in 1946. For the Lake special uses. Frequently the butt log States, the total was 95,463 cords, twice of an old, sound walnut tree will be the amount in 1936. worth many times for veneer what it American farmers use an estimated would bring as a sawlog. The prices 500 million wooden fence posts annu- sometimes realized—running into a ally, but probably fewer than 5 per- thousand dollars or more for one tree— cent of them are given preservative warrant investigation. treatment to lengthen their useful life. Other hardwoods may also find a For untreated posts, the more decay- veneer market—oak, yellow-poplar, resistant woods must be used, but their redgum, maple, and the cottonwood, life can be considerably extended by among them. simple treating methods. For the less To bring the highest prices, veneer resistant species, treatment is neces- logs or bolts should be straight, sym- sary if satisfactory use is to be obtained. metrical, large, and free of defects. The woodland owner, then, will do Likewise in demand is eastern red- well to establish his fence-post business cedar, the tree from which pencils, on a quality basis. cedar lining for chests, and some insect Small poles, likewise, are a market- repellents are made. Large redcedar able item in farming areas. And where is eagerly sought by manufacturers of gardening is carried on in cedar chests; and small stock—of the areas with limited wood supply, the fence-post variety—will be purchased woodland owner may also find a mar- by the pencil-block companies. Even ket for small but straight material for the sawdust of the tree, if produced in bean poles. quantity, is the source of cedar oil. Sound, clear white oak is the source Baseball bats are made from young, of tight cooperage, the barrels used to second-growth white ash; wood from hold liquids. The supply of this mate- Roots and Stems and Dogwood Bolts 179 rial has reached an all-time low, and ury prices. Where the woodland pro- consequently the prices for good coop- duces more fuel wood than the farmer erage stock are at an all-time high. can use himself, the fuel-wood market While other types of containers have provides an outlet for the wood which taken the place of wooden ones for might otherwise be wasted. In such some liquids, there arc still others, no- cases, it is well for him to establish a tably whiskey, for which a suitable sub- steady year-round market and to serv- stitute for wood has not yet been found. ice that market with sound, high- The owner of any of the various species calorie wood. of white oak should investigate this Too few wood sellers make a point market. of marketing quality wood. Those who Another little-known product of the do are assured of a group of satisfied woodland is basket . The Amer- customers. The fuel value of wood ican green willow, a tree of the clay varies considerably; generally, it is loam of the East and South, often highest in the heavier woods. One grows where few other commercial standard cord of such wood as oak, products will grow—in lands subject to maple, hickory, and beech is equal to flooding and on the borders of lakes, roughly a ton of coal in heat value ; the streams, and rivers. The marketable heat value of lighter woods such as product is the rods, or young shoots, cedar, spruce, soft pine, poplar, and that spring from well-established root- basswood is about half as much. Local stocks or stumps. Willow may be prop- custom and uses determine the sizes agated by setting out cuttings about into which the fuel wood should be cut, 10 inches long in the early spring. The but there is one unalterable standard— cuttings root easily in the moist earth the wood must be thoroughly dry. and within a few years have developed Hence, the owner must plan his work well-rooted stock from which rods can so that the wood is cut several months be harvested each year. Peeled willow before he intends to sell it. brings the highest prices in the basket Cutting fuel wood, if done wisely, market. Before undertaking any exten- can be a way to improve a poor timber sive propagation, the owner should be stand. Trees that should be cut be- sure a local market exists, however; the cause they will never make good tim- industry is diminishing in this country. ber or are interfering with the growth The California-laurel, or the Ore- of others may make excellent fuel.. gon-myrtle, neither a laurel nor a myr- Tops and heavy limbs of trees cut for tle, belongs to a family that includc^s the other purposes often can be converted eastern sassafras and the "loblolly bays" into cordwood for the market or home of the South. It grows from south- use. Slabs, edgings, and sawmill trim.- western Oregon to the southern border mings also may have fuel value. of California. Its beautiful grain makes Among the other stem products are it valuable for cabinet and finishing those derived from the sap or liquids work. The wood, therefore, becomes a in the trees. Chief among them is the specialty item that brings a better price resin or gum of the longleaf and slash for special uses than it does as lumber. pines of the South. Operating a tur- Many farmers use 15 to 20 cords of pentine orchard is often a major enter- wood each year; as a home-use prod- prise, but it also is a minor enterprise uct, therefore, fuel wood stands high on thousands of woodlands. If good on the list. For the market it may be a turpentining practices are followed on profitable source of income. With good the small holdings, as on the large ones, roads and easy transportation, wood- the producing life of the tree can be land owners find it profitable to haul extended, and after the tree has been fuel wood 15 miles or more to the city worked out it will still yield valuable markets. In most large cities, fireplace products in the form of pulp wood, wood is a luxury item that sells at lux- fence posts, cross ties, or sawlogs. i8o Yearbook of Agriculture 1949 A little-known gum product is that packing seedlings for shipment and as produced by the sweetgum or redgum a medium for seed germination. It is treCj one of the most common hard- a long-stemmed moss that is harvested woods of the South, although few in commercial quantities in Wisconsin farmers or landowners have much use and New Jersey. Harvesting is done by for it. Farmers in Clarke County, Ala.^ taking the massed moss from the w^ater how^cver, have developed a $200,000 and permitting it to dry in the sun. business in the sweet gum from the tree. Spanish moss, that sombre, dull- Known as "storax," the gum is gath- gr(H.^n decoration found on trees in the ered much as is the gum of the naval low^lands of the South, is also a mar- stores pines and, processed, is used for ketable item. The moss clings to the adhesives, salv(^s, incens(^, and perfume. tree only for support and does the tree The production of maple sirup and no harm unless it covers it so com- sugar is confíned mostly to New Eng- pletely that it prevents development of land, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, leaves and buds. It derives its living Maryland, and the Lake States. The from the air. Easily gathered, it finds sugar maple tree is the best producer, a market as packing material. although red and silver maples, which The cork oak is a native of the shores yield about one-half the sugar content of the western Mediterranean, but it of the sugar maple, can also be used. has been found to thrive if planted in For commercial operations, it is de- the United States in regions where the sirable to have at least 500 to 1,000 mean annual temperature ranges from trees that can be tapped. Owners of 50° to 70° F. The tree has several uses. smaller numbers of sugar trees, how- Being evergreen, it makes a desirable ever, can combine their output for ornamental tree; its acorns make good processing. Mature trees are excellent feed for hogs; its bark yields cork, sap producers as long as they remain which can be stripped from healthy vigorous, even though their rate of trees without injury to the trees. The growth may be slow. A seasonal opera- tree is adaptable to many types of tion, the making of maple sirup em- if drainage is good. It may be grown ploys farm labor profitably for 2 to 5 from acorns or from nursery stock. The weeks each year when the sap begins cork harvest can begin when trees arc to flow, generally from February 15 to 13 to 20 years old. The markets for April 15. Drawing off the sap does cork arc good, and the cork-using in- little harm to the trees. Trees that have dustry in this country is encouraging been tapped for years still can yield the establishment of plantations. good sawlogs and other w^ood products. The bark of w^estern buckthorn, or The sugar stock must be protected from cascara sagrada, w^hich ranges from fire and grazing. Puget Sound southward into Lower Minor markets arc also found for California, is used for its medicinal val- the resin of the balsam fir and the bark ue. In Oregon and Washington, collec- and twigs of the black birch, from tion of the bark is often an important w^hich medicinal products are derived. local industry. Cut stumps generally Often stem products involve the sprout vigorously, yielding additional w^hole plant. For example, in many crops if conservatively managed. The parts of the country farmers and others wood is of no commercial value. supplement their incomes by selling large fern fronds and attractive weed AMONG THE PRODUCTS we can plants to florists for use in bouquets. include Christmas trees, because their Sphagnum moss, because of its good evergreen leaves or needles are of most water-holding ability—it is much more importance in their sale and use. absorbent than cotton—often finds a Christmas trees in quantity are rarely ready market at forest nurseries and the products of a small woodland. gardeners' supply houses. It is ideal for More and more, the Christmas-tree Rooís and Stems and Dogwood Bolts i8i market is being served by owners of in nature's own fashion for compost. plantations who have set the trees out The compost pit or pile may also find for the express purpose of growing a market, especially if the landowner Christmas trees. A large number also is near a city where flower and vege- come from thinnings in plantations table gardeners create a demand for it. established for other purposes. The Galax is an attractive evergreen herb Christmas-tree industry is discussed in w^hich grows in the open woods from other articles in this book. It is well Virginia to Georgia. Its leaves are used here, how^ever, to remind the small by florists for decoration. Often over- landowner that the Christmas-tree looked by woodland owners, it can be market often is an attractive one for a cash crop if harvested conservatively. the disposal of small evergreens from Its creeping rootstocks make it rela- crowded plantations and from over- tively easy to propagate and retain on stocked natural seeding of fields. If woodland soils. evergreen timber harvesting is done at the right time of the year, well-formed CROPS, for our purpose here, tops may be dressed up for the Christ- range from cones to mushrooms. mas-tree market. Boys and girls of the 4-H Clubs in Branches of evergreen trees, notably Emanuel County, in Georgia, earned those of the longleaf pine of the South, $1,000 in 1948 by collecting 1,000 are eagerly sought for Christmas deco- bushels of longleaf pine cones. The ration. To a lesser degree other ever- cones were sold to the State Depart- green boughs likewise find a place in ment of Forestry for seed for the for- the Christmas market. est nursery. Seed, particularly that of Needles of pine, spruce, and fir have conifers, is in great demand by forest- a fragrance that helps create a spe- tree nurseries throughout the country. cialty market for balsam pillow^s. While As planting programs expand, the de- the market is limited, it can provide mand will grow. Markets are found not more than pin mont^.y for persons liv- only at the State nurseries but among ing near resorts wehere such pillows are the private nurseries and others. The purchased for souvenirs and gifts. woodland owner with a good seed crop Tn the mountain industries of the should look to these markets, learn the South, pine needles are used along specifications for collecting, storing, with raffia and other weaving materials and shipping cones and other fruit that for baskets and small hand-woven ar- •may be in demand. The markets may ticles and novelties. not be found locally, but the State for- The leaves of the wintergreen plant, ester or extension forester will be able found growing in the woods of the East to say where they are. and North, is one of the sources of Cones also can be sold for decorative wintergreen flavor, similar to that of purposes and for use in the manufac- the black birch inner bark. Most of ture of novelties. Small cones, such as the wintergreen flavoring is now pro- those of the hemlock, are tied into duced synthetically, but the natural- wreaths of evergreen material or artifi- plant extract is used to a limited extent. cial greenery for Christmas use. Larger The eucalyptus tree, several species cones, in groups of three to ^wtt^ be- of which have been introduced on the come wall decorations. Others may west coast, is a multipurpose tree suit- be painted, dyed, or otherwise orna- able for fuel wood and lumber in about mented for use as Christmas-tree trim- 25 years. Oil from its leaves is used in mings and window hangings or desk making medicines and perfumes. and table novelties. Craft shops are the Leaves of the eastern white-cedar markets for such materials, but the likewise produce marketable oils. woodland owner or his family may de- When no other use can be found for velop a winter-evening pastime into a them, hardwood leaves may be utilized paying proposition. l82 Yearboo\ of Agriculture 1949 Tree fruits for human food are prod- provides a seasonal livelihood for many ucts of such trees as the hazel^ hick- woodland owners. An attractive forest orieSj pecans, walnuts, and, to a lim- or ornamental tree, it can be ruined by ited degree, the pines. When available overzealous cutting, although it is a in quantity, they constitute marketable hardy tree—in its adapted range—and items, but even the yield from an in- has few insect and disease enemies. dividual tree often provides food for For commercial cuttings, special care the landowner. must be taken to prune individual trees In the Tennessee Valley, the har- lightly. The crops should be harvested vesting of black walnuts for the mar- with tree trimmers—not an ax, saw, or ket is a major enterprise each fall. corn knife. Cuts should be made at Around 700,000 pounds of walnut ker- junctions of main and lateral branches; nels are produced annually by farmers the cuts should be smooth and clean. in six counties in southwestern Vir- Generally, trees do not produce ber- ginia and in eastern Tennessee. While ries until they are about 10 years old, efforts are being made to have land- and then only the female ones. A spe- owners plant and cultivate varieties of cial warning about holly: Country black walnuts of higher yield, the mar- people should cut holly only on their ket for wild walnuts continues to exist. property; city people should buy holly Walnuts may be sold in the shells to branches from reputable dealers who shelling plants or the meats can be ex- can give assurance that no vandalism tracted by farm labor. was involved in gathering them. The persimmon and pawpaw gen- Mushrooms are classified as a fruit erally find no market, but are ideal for crop because the stem and cap, which home consumption. are harvested and eaten, are really the Other fruits for home consumption fruiting body of a ground fungus. and occasionally for the market are Mushrooms are exceedingly rapid in mulberries, wild , huckle- growth; they spring up overnight fol- , raspberries, blackberries, and lowing a spring or fall rain. If they are (in the Northeast and Lake States) not picked within 24 hours, they gen- wild cranberries. A large amount of erally start to decay. When they occur blueberries as well as in small quantities, they provide food come from wild plants, in the Northern for the landowner's table. In greater and New England States chiefly, but amounts, they may be sold to local mar- also from the Middle Atlantic, Appa-. kets or provide another item for the lachian, and Southern States. roadside stand. It is important that the Wild grapes and wild cherries sel- harvester learn to identify the poison- dom find a market as such, but those ous and nonpoisonous varieties. fruits provide the sources for home- made jams and jellies and wines. The WE HAVE SEEN (mostly by example, jams and jellies make good items for for there are many other salable for- roadside markets. est products ) how wide a scope a small Mistletoes are flowering parasites. forest presents. By proper husbandry, The dwarf mistletoe of the West is its yields and values can be increased. very destructive of the host pines on No plant in the forest is too small to which it grows, but the larger mistle- be considered; no part of the plant is toe, used for Christmas decorations too insignificant to find an attractive and common in the South, is less dam- market or home use. The secret of suc- aging to the hardwoods on which it cess in the management of small wood- grows. The whole plant is harvested— lands may be summed up as follows: stems and leaves, with or without the Find out what the land is growing and flowers or fruit. Sprigs with fruit on is capable of growing; discover or de- them generally bring the higher prices. velop a use and market for it; learn Holly, a favorite Christmas green. what the plant needs for its best devel- Cooperatives and Small Woodlands 183 opmcnt; and practice intelligent hus- with the States of Pennsylvania and bandry and conservative harvestings so New Jersey and, during the war, with that continuing crops may be assured. the War Production Board on prob- lems of lumber and lumber products. A. G. HALL U forester for the Amer- Since 1945, with the American For- ican Forestry Association and associate estry Association, he has conducted a editor of the magazine, American For- department in American Forests deal- ests, Beginning in 1933, he was em- ing with the problems of small-wood- ployed with the Forest Service and land management.

COOPERATIVES AND SMALL WOODLANDS ALLEN W. BRATTON

Seventy-six cooperatives in 26 States more than 10,000, have more than 5 have attempted to solve some or all of million members, and do a volume of the problems of growing, harvesting, business of over 6 billion dollars a year. processing, marketing, and purchasing The problems that the forest coop- forest products. Mostly they have been eratives have tried to solve develop small, local organizations. Thirty have from the smallness of the small wood- handled forest products as the major land, which, as a rule, produces only a part of their business. Pulpwood, logs, part of its owner's income. It is usually fence posts, fuel wood, and Christmas cut-over at long intervals when there trees are the products most frequently happens to be a chance for a cash sale. handled. Two cooperatives have proc- Most of the owners have acquired no essed and marketed maple products real knowledge of forest management. exclusively, and one has dealt with They tend to assume that the growth naval stores. of trees, like the succession of the sea- Not all of the 76 cooperatives are sons, is something they can do nothing now in existence. Several failed. Not about. The woodland now does not inore than one in every four is active produce enough income to justify and is following its original objectives. much effort in trying to find out how A few, established to serve a special to manage it. Owners have cut what- and temporary service, have done the ever happened to grow on the land job and w^ound up their businesses. whenever they needed money or con- Several are inactive ; their services may sidered the woodland ready to cut— be less important now to their members once or tw^ice in a lifetime. More and than when markets were harder for in- more of their time has gone elsewhere, dividuals to find. and many of them have lost the skills Some of the forest-product coopera- of the woodsman. Much antiquated tives, the pioneers, have contributed to equipment is still in use because mod- better forest practices. They are estab- ern logging devices are too expensive lishing invaluable patterns for future for small owners to buy and operate organizations that are bound to spring for their small logging jobs. up. In that they are marketing or pur- Nearly all woodland owners are oc- chasing or service groups, they follow casionally faced with the problem of generally the pattern of agricultural marketing products from their lands. cooperatives, which, it is estimated, Though they may cut timber for posts, handle about one-fifth of the products poles, fuel wood, and lumber, it is rare sold by farmers and about one-sixth of that surpluses do not develop, espe- the farmers' expenditures for supplies cially in the managed woodlands. and equipment, and which number Hardwoods may be abundant where