WOOD Lots in the Piedmont Region a Profit Source

Governor Angus McLean, of North Carolina, in a recent address said: “I do not expect to see agriculture a generally profitable industry in eastern North Carolina until the farmers supplement their agricultural production with crops of valuable timber for their uncultivated land.” What is true for eastern North Carolina is generally true for the whole eastern Piedmont and coastal plain region.  Farm woods can and should grow valuable ¢ producing an income from the poorer or less easily tilled soils; but in order to do so they must be properly managed.

FIG. 268.— A stand of mixed pine and hardwoods on the Piedmont Plateau, unburned and not grazed, but in need of a cutting to stimulate the growth of the better pines

Any owner of farm woods in determining what trees will yield him the greatest returns will choose both those which grow most rapidly to merchantable size and those which will yield the most valuable wood. Yellow poplar, loblolly pine, and sweet gum will do both, if grown on moist, well-drained soil, as at the foot of a slope. Black walnut and shagbark hickory thrive on moist soils and produce wood of high value, although their growth is slow. Drier soils will produce good yields of shortleaf pine, oaks, black locust, and pignut hickory. Trees that are both of low value and slow growth should be eliminated as rapidly as possible without breaking up the stand.

Weeding out poor species and defective trees is a continuous process, but is most effective when the stand is young. A very little work with the ax or brush hook when the trees are only a few feet high will do away with many of the so-called “weed” trees, such as sassafras, scrub oak, sumac, and dogwood. Later on, small and defective trees may be cut out for fuel. Such thinnings should leave a little space around the crowns of all the best trees in the stand, but should not be so heavy that the lower branches get light enough to live. Stands properly thinned at intervals of 5 or 10 years will develop long clear trunks and thrifty crowns capable of supporting a rapid growth.

Farm woods are subject to very serious loss from fire in the destruction of young trees and damage to older ones, and also in indirect loss through destruction of the leaf litter and organic matter in the soil. They can usually be protected from fire quite easily, however, and such protection should never be omitted.

One of the greatest sources of damage to farm woods is overgrazing, especially where livestock are kept fenced in the woods.  Even where timber has grown beyond the sapling stage, it is better to have no grazing at all than to run the risk of overgrazing. Cattle do not browse on the pines, and therefore cattle grazing is not nearly so disastrous in the young pine woods of the Piedmont section as in the young hardwood timber; but if heavy grazing is permitted in very young pine stands much damage is done to the young trees by trampling.

Properly managed, the wood lot is an asset to any farm. It will provide perpetually the various kinds of wood needed in farm maintenance; it can be managed with little labor at off periods; it furnishes from time to time revenue not dependent upon season or weather; and, finally, a piece of woods adds attractiveness to the farm, and gives shade in summer and protection from cold winds and storms in winter.