Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 June 1908 — A PROFITABLE TIMBER LOT. [ARTICLE]

A PROFITABLE TIMBER LOT.

In these days, when so much is being ■aid and written about the wisdom of the federal government’s policy of forest preservation and when farmers in the agricultural states are being urged to set out timber lots, one of the first questions that come to tbe mind of one who is debating tbe wisdom of the proposal is, “Does it pay?” With a view to citing a case which may in part answer this query we give below the figures on the returns from an acre and a quarter wood lot belonging to a friend living near by. Tbe tract In question is a piece of native timber, in which the oaks—white, black and jack —predominate. The lot in question has lately been cleared, and our friend tells us that in addition to having got twenty cords of firewood from this lot during the past seventeen years tbe clearing of the piece has yielded a total of thirty cords of wood, worth $6 per cord, or $180; eighty-one oak posts, worth on an average 15 cents, amounting to >121.20, and seven saw logs which, it is estimated, will yield 700 feet of plank, worth $35, making the total receipts from the acre $336.50. Deducting from this 1% cents for making the posts, $1 a cord for cutting the wood, $18.50 for clearing the land and $5 for sawing the plank, there is left a net return from the acre of $265.60. While the showing here given may be better than the average, it indicates what may be done with a natural wood lot when rightly managed. When the trees in the wood lot have attained a size where their development Is very slow and are at a point where the process of decline and decay has already or will soon set in, they may very properly be termed ripe and should be removed so as to make room and give light and air for smaller trees that may be growing up around them. The wood lot should be inspected every year with the above thought in mind. SPRAYING FRUIT CROPS. A co-operative spraying experiment will be carried on In the writer’s orchard this year in connection with the horticultural department of the state experiment station. The results of the spraying which has been done In the orchard during the past two years have been so pronounced that the subject of its being worth while is no longer open to debate. The writer would place tbe value of the spraying last year at close to SBOO, while the spraying materials and operations did not cost over $l4O. With both gardener and horticulturist a nice margin of profit can often be se cured above ruling market prices by raising that which Is of extra quality. This Is what spraylng does for the apple or other fruit crop. Indeed, In many markets fruit that has not been sprayed is classed as cull stuff and is not wanted at any price. Last year’s experience seems to point out one or two things that may be worth mentioning. One Is that two thorough treatments before the blossom clusters open are advisable, serving to hold the apple scab in check in very effective manner. Another Is that special pains should be taken to make the treatment which is given just after the blossoms fall as thorough as possible. It is at this time If at all that the poison contained In the spraying solution is deposited in the little calyx cup or blossom end of the apple, where it Is estimated that 80 per cent of the eggs of the codling moth are laid. The burning of the foliage which was noticed to some extent last season seems to have been due to the fact that there is too much of the arsenate In the solution or that the mixture was not kept stirred as thoroughly as it ought to have been while the spraying was being done. These are two additional points that will be watched somewhat more closely this year. THE BEST BREED. The question is often asked, “Which is the best breed of fowls?” and quite as often an attempt Is made to give a definite answer and name the “best” breed. However, if any individual instance of success with poultry were to be Investigated the fact would quite likely be developed that It was the kind of man and the care he save his flock rather than the variety of fowls kept that should really be credited with the success achieved. A first class man can make good money out of scrubs, while a scrub poultryman would have hard scratching to succeed with the best breed of fowls on earth. The best combination Is a careful man and good attention coupled with one of tbe commonly accepted “good” breeds. If’good layers are wanted the Leghorns. Orpingtons and Rhode Island Reds cannot be excelled; If a general purpose fowl is desired tbe Plymouth Rock and Wyandotte are all right, while if a heavier and more easily confined breed is wanted the Brahmas or Cochins will fill the bill. WAIT TILL FROST IS OUT. A good deal of risk is involved In purchasing a farm in a section of the country with which one Is not acquainted In the winter months and especially If the ground is covered with snow. We heard of a chap not long ago who was on the point of buying a farm under just such circumstances and at a price which he considered a rare bargain. On some one’s suggestion he waited until spring, then made a final inspection of the land and found that It was but little better than a spongy bog, the native haunt of bobolinks and bullfrogs. This experience taught him a lesson, and the next time he sized his prospective purchase up when vegetation was in growth.