Undoubtedly, one of the most important phases of the forestry work,
so far as the individual States are concerned, is the question of the
woodlot and its improvement. In the Eastern States――that is, those east
of the Mississippi River――a very considerable portion of the forested
areas within each State is in the form of woodlots which are a part
of and an adjunct to the farm so that in any comprehensive forest
policy for the Eastern United States a great deal of attention must be
focused upon this phase of the work. This is, undoubtedly, true so far
as Kentucky is concerned where, as a whole, the land is held in fee
simple by the citizens of the State as farms from a few acres in size
up to several thousand acres. By the majority of the owners of these
farms, the value and importance of the woodlot is little understood
nor has the practice of forestry as it applies to these woodlots any
significance whatsoever. The object of this bulletin is to make clear
just what forestry is, the relation of scientific forestry to the
improvement of the woodlot and the economical part which the farm
woodlot plays in the industrial and social welfare of the State. As a
matter of fact, this is one of the most difficult features of the work
to present properly, because it is a hard matter to make clear to the
average individual just why a woodlot is an asset in connection with
his property and how the improvement and care of his woodlot concerns
him closely and means a proportional increase directly in the actual
money value of the material on hand and indirectly in ways which do not
present themselves readily unless the attention is focused on them――as
for example, the value of a woodlot as a wind-break in connection with
an orchard or in connection with the farm as a whole, or the value of
a wooded area on an easily eroded hillside as a fixative for the soil
and a preventative against the deterioration of the cultivated areas
below it. The effort then of this bulletin will be――first, to show
how the average woodlot may be brought to a standard of productivity
compatible with the complete utilization of the ground, and second, to
show in detail what the direct and indirect benefits of a woodlot in
connection with any farm will be under the best circumstances. In the
preparation of this bulletin, free use has been made of all bulletins
and publications on this subject, which the writer has been able to get
hold of and acknowledgment is made to these as a whole, since it would
be impracticable to make complete individual acknowledgement.