New England
States more than 65 per cent. of the forested land is on farms,
while in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa from 80 to 100 per
cent. of the timber tracts are on corn belt farms. Conditions in
the South also emphasize the importance of farm woods, as in this
region there are more than 125,000,000 acres which yield an
income of about $150,000,000 a year. In fact the woodlands on the
farms compose about 50 per cent. of all the forest lands south of
the Mason-Dixon line. In Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina,
Kentucky and Oklahoma, over 60 per cent. of all the forest land
is on farms.

The Government says timber raising is very profitable in the
Eastern States because there is plenty of cheap land which is
not suitable for farming, while the rainfall is abundant and
favors rapid tree growth. Furthermore, there are many large
cities which use enormous supplies of lumber. The transportation
facilities, both rail and water, are excellent. This section is a
long distance from the last of the virgin forests of the Pacific
Coast country.

The farms that reported at the last census sold an average of
about $82 worth of tree crop products a year. New York, North
Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky,
Wisconsin and Pennsylvania each sold over $15,000,000 worth of
lumber and other forest products from their farm woodlots during
a single season. In 1918 the report showed that the farms of the
country burn up about 78,000,000 cords of firewood annually,
equal to approximately 11.5 cords of fuel a farm. The Southern
States burn more wood than the colder Northern States. In North
Carolina each farm consumes eighteen cords of fuel annually,
while the farms of South Carolina and Arkansas used seventeen
cords apiece, and those of Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee,
Louisiana, and Kentucky from fifteen to sixteen cords. Even under
these conditions of extensive cordwood use, our farm woodlots
are producing only about one-third to one-half of the wood
supplies which they could grow if they were properly managed.

The farmer who appreciates the importance of caring for his home
forests is always interested in knowing how much timber will grow
on an acre during a period of twelve months. The Government
reports that where the farm woodlots are fully stocked with trees
and well-cared for, an acre of hardwoods will produce from
one-half to one cord of wood--a cord of wood is equal to about
500 board feet of lumber