To the average individual, forestry as a science does not mean
very much. The impression is that it has to do with the trees, but
to what extent and how it deals with this question is by no means
thoroughly understood. In the first place, forestry deals with trees
as a community and not as an individual――that is, it deals with them
in the bulk and in this respect differs from kindred sciences where
the individual tree is a matter of concern. The forester is often
called upon to answer questions and discuss matters with relation to
shade trees or ornamental trees, but this is not a matter within his
province properly, but is a matter for the landscape architect or
horticulturist. Forestry primarily concerns itself with the planting
and growing of trees for sale at a profit. Occasionally forestry may
concern itself with the growing and raising of trees for purposes
where the money value of the crop, while it may not be as evident as
where the trees are placed on the market and sold, is nevertheless, a
real money consideration. This is the case, where certain areas are
planted for the purification and conservation of a city water supply.
Here the actual worth of the forest is the value to the people of the
city or community of pure drinking water. This will be the case in
the Catskill Mountains where enormous expenditures are being made for
supplying New York City with pure water and where the purity of this
water supply depends upon the maintenance of certain areas in forest
growth. Forestry then, so far as it relates to the farm and woodlot,
may be defined as dealing with trees as communities and the growing and
marketing of these trees for a profit. It is a simple proposition, the
same as raising corn. In raising corn, the ground is prepared, the seed
is planted at a certain time in the spring, the necessary attention is
given during the growing season and in the fall it is harvested and
sold. A certain price is obtained for the grain and a certain price for
the stalks, usually in the form of fodder for stock. The chief value
of the corn crop depends upon the number of bushels per acre of corn
(grain) that have been produced and the kind and quality of corn there
is to market. The kind and quality of the corn crop depends on the
selection of seed. All this is accomplished within a year’s time――the
planting, the harvesting, the cultivation and the sale of the product.
Forestry is exactly the same proposition. The stock is selected, the
trees are planted, the necessary attention is given them during the
growing period, and eventually the crop is harvested and marketed for
the best price obtainable. The value of the timber crop depends on
how much material you raise to the acre, the kind and quality of the
product you have to market and the demand in the market for the class
of material to which the timber crop is particularly adapted. The chief
difference is this: that, whereas, the corn crop has been planted,
harvested and marketed within one growing season, a forest crop takes
a period of growing seasons before it is ready to market. The precise
length of this period depends on the kind of material you are to raise,
as fence posts, ties, lumber, etc.