. Bulletin. Agriculture -- Ontario. 10 pass away. At the present time many farmers in older Ontario depend almost entirely upon the supply of coal for fuel. Local mill operators have frequently been allowed to go through the woodlot and take out the best timber, leaving only a slash. The owner has felt satisfied with the ready cash that such an operation left him and quick returns is a strong argument in favor of denuding the land. No arguments are advanced in these pages to show that the use of the land for wood crop production would give greater financial returns than its use for other farm
. Bulletin. Agriculture -- Ontario. 10 pass away. At the present time many farmers in older Ontario depend almost entirely upon the supply of coal for fuel. Local mill operators have frequently been allowed to go through the woodlot and take out the best timber, leaving only a slash. The owner has felt satisfied with the ready cash that such an operation left him and quick returns is a strong argument in favor of denuding the land. No arguments are advanced in these pages to show that the use of the land for wood crop production would give greater financial returns than its use for other farm purposes. Neither will we discuss the per- centage of land which should be under trees, as this is a question which must be settled by the individual owner. Many farmers in Ontario find that from the standpoint of labor and management they are limited in the amount of land which they can profitably cultivate. The following pages take it for granted that the owner desires to make the woodlot a permanent and paying part of the farm. Ground Fires as Related to the Woodlot. Injury to Soil. Fire should never be allowed to run through the woodlot. By burning off the leaf litter and vegetable mould or humus the soil is greatly weakened. As was pointed out in previous pages, the healthy development of the for- est tree is dependent upon the humus condition of the soil. Injury to Reproduction. Ground fires also destroy the seed and young growth and make it much more dif- ficult for seeds to germinate in the future. The natural seedbed of humus soil covered with the leaves gives a protected, natural seedbed which is necessary for reproduction. Injury to Old Trees. Ground fires frequently pass through the woods in spring and by the middle of the summer the woods seem t have recovered. This is not the case, for usually large trees, which seem to have bark thick enough to withstand the small amount of heat of a ground fire, are injured in a manner not at once visible to the T?. „ „„ ,
Size: 1298px × 1925px
Photo credit: © Library Book Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorontariodeptofagriculture, bookcollection, bookyear1905
