Woodlot

“ Fumio can have the big pasture, Eiko the small one; Yosh and I will pick in the west woodlot.”
We carried a picnic lunch and nests of large baskets which were to be put by the edge of the woodlots when full; late in the afternoon a cart would pick them up and bring them in for drying. The air was warm even under the leafless branches; the damp ground steamed cosily.
“Kimi was certainly right,” I commented. “Theyre thick as can be.” ”

“ It is essential that a woodlot shall be protected if it is to be an asset to the owner and brings him financial returns. There are two destructive agencies against which he must make special efforts, fire and stock. It may seem unnecessary to point out the various bad effects which fire and stock have on woodlands, but they are nevertheless here set forth in brief. ”

“ For instance, if the owner desires fence posts, and fencing material, his woodlot will, in Kentucky, be confined to those species which produce such material quickly, as for example black locust, catalpa, chestnut and walnut, also it will be well to have a percentage of red cedar (juniper) in the mixture, for since red cedar grows comparatively slowly, it may be reserved to be cut as the second crop and will serve to shade the ground and prevent erosion when the faster [15] growing species have been cut and during the restocking of the area. ”

“ It is indigenous to the State, grows fairly rapidly and lasts a long time in contact with the soil, three prime requisites of any species which is to be used in the growing of this class of material. Other species which may be used are catalpa (Catalpa speciosa) , walnut, osage orange, chestnut and juniper (also known locally as cedar or red cedar) .
2. As a general proposition, it appears that the maintenance of a woodlot for the growing of fuel, so far as Kentucky is concerned, is not an important consideration. ”

“ The woodcock seeks the darkest and most silent thickets, and likes a marly soil, damp meadows, and the neighbourhood of brooks and stagnant water.
But though motionless and torpid, so long as the sun is above the horizon, woodcocks are always on the alert, and wake and shake their feathers the moment night comes; leaving the shady thickets and grassy spots, they flock to the glades and little paths of the woods, and thrust their long beaks into the soft, damp soil—for this bird, be it remembered, never touches either corn or fruit, but lives entirely upon grubs and earth-worms. ”

“ It was when hunting in this wild resort of deer in the short January days of 1464, that Edward IV. met Elizabeth Woodville, not more than two hundred yards to the rear of the spot where the old hunting-lodge stands. The place of meeting is still marked by the ancient and gigantic tree known far and wide as the “Queen’s Oak,” a gnarled and hollowed giant, whose trunk measures thirty-one feet round and whose cavernous interior can, and constantly does in summer-time, seat a tea-party of three or four persons. ”

“ In foggy or cloudy nights, when the branches of the trees are dripping wet, the woodcock, ensconced in its hole, feels no hunger, moves not, and would not [Pg 109] venture abroad for love or money; but should the sky prove clear, and the moon shine forth, lighting up the forest paths, the delighted bird steals from its dwelling, shakes its feathers, and sallies forth on its adventures. For the woodcock, like poets and lovers, is fond of the moonlight and the sweet perfumes of evening. ”

“ On moonlight nights it is often continued through much or all of the night. The woodcock's nest is usually in some swampy thicket or on the edge of the woods, near an open pasture, field, or clearing; and here in the nearest open space, preferably on some knoll or low hillside within hearing of his sitting mate, the male woodcock entertains her with his thrilling performance. Sometimes, but not always, he struts around on the ground, with tail erect and spread, and with bill pointing downwards and resting on his chest. ”

“ He walked up to another tree, as he spoke, but its branches immediately seized him and tossed him back again.
"This is strange," exclaimed Dorothy. "What shall we do?"
"The trees seem to have made up their minds to fight us, and stop our journey," remarked the Lion.
"I believe I will try it myself," said the Woodman, and shouldering his axe, he marched up to the first tree that had handled the Scarecrow so roughly. When a big branch bent down to seize him the Woodman chopped at it so fiercely that he cut it in two. ”

“ Seven summers more the grand old mulberry-tree at Woodford Cottage has borne leaf, flower, and fruit; the old dog that used to lie snarling under its branches, lies there still, but snarls no more. Between him and the upper air are two feet of earth, together with an elegant canine tombstone, on which Miss Rothesay, by the entreaty of the disconsolate Meliora, has modelled in clay a very good likeness of the departed.
Snap is the only individual who has passed away at Woodford Cottage; in all things else there has been an increase, not a decrease. ”

“ The pheasants wander about the woods and copses; the partridge are among the corn and stubble; and rabbits pop in and out everywhere. Hares haunt the meadows and upland fields, and snipe go away from the marshes. Woodcock come to the wet woods, and a host of sea-haunting creatures feed along the bay. There is a heronry in the wood, and pigeons build in the larches. Of the habits of these creatures the keeper is full; and if he is garrulous he is always instructive. By observing, he has found that animals and birds have stated times and well-defined routes. ”

“ Usually a trail leads to a bush or tree showing evidence of heavy use by the rat. Ordinarily such a trail cannot be traced more than 30 feet from the house, and it seems that the most concentrated foraging occurs within this short radius. Experience in live-trapping has indicated that the distance covered by a woodrat in its normal foraging for food is ordinarily less than 75 feet in any direction from the house. ”

“ Among mammals, the cottontail and the white-footed mouse are the most persistent users of the woodrat houses, especially those that are no longer occupied by the rats. On one occasion five white-footed mice were caught simultaneously in a trap set beside a house at the base of an osage orange tree. ”

“ He has gone no farther than the dense shelter of a neighboring pine grove, whence he watches out until he thinks it safe to come home.
I take it that the same reason holds good for the plentifulness of woodcock this fall in certain swamps which I frequent. You may know that woodcock are plentiful in a place, even if you do not{160} see them, by the numbers of little round holes in moist, soft ground, usually where the swamp begins to give way to sandy upland. Here the bird goes jabbing for angleworms, which are his chief diet. ”

“ Woodcock. He knows from more than a half century much of the habits and characteristics of animals. He gives his reasons why marten are plentiful in one section and are gone in a few days. His reason too, looks plausible. He describes trapping wolves in Upper Michigan about 1880, also beaver. Tells how he caught the "shadow of the forests" as wolves are often called by trappers--they are so hard to trap. By reading of his many experiences you will not only enjoy what he says, but will get facts about bear, deer, fox, wolves, mink, marten and other fur bearers that you had never thought of. ”

“ Off we went then; but what boots it to repeat a thrice told tale; suffice it, that the dogs worked as well as dogs can work; that birds were plentiful, and lying good; that we fagged hard, and shot on the whole passably, so that by sunset we had exceeded Harry's forty brace by fifteen birds, and got beside nine couple and a half of woodcock; which we found, most unexpectedly, basking themselves in the open meadow, along the grassy banks of a small rill, without a bush or tree within five hundred yards of them. ”

“ Far removed from the strife that occasionally rages amidst the feathered tribes of the forest, or the more formidable struggles of its four-footed inhabitants, whose howls occasionally startle the silence of night, and quite indifferent as to whether a fox or a wolf is seated on the sylvan throne, the woodcock, like a true philosopher, in the depths of the thicket, leads a calm and sedentary life, requiring no other elements of happiness than moonlight, rest, and a few worms. ”

“ He must be broiled, split open neatly and well larded with good butter, for not so juicy even as the quail is the ruffed grouse, and he must have aid. But, broiled and buttered and seasoned, well, what a bird he is!
There were woodcock, too, in the lowlands, and Harlson found with them such buoyant life as we men find in sudden death of those small, succulent creatures. To stop a woodcock on the wing as it pitches over the willows is no simple thing, and he who does it handily is, in one respect, greater than he who ruleth a kingdom. ”

“ No sense of loss or sadness oppresses the soul of the ardent sportsman as he ranges the unroofed aisles alert for the wary grouse, the skulking woodcock, full-grown and strong of wing and keen-eyed for every enemy, or the hare flashing his half-donned winter coat among the gray underbrush as he bounds away before the merry chiding of the beagles. ”

“ It has been the belief that the woodcock has two broods in the year, because young ones have been found, just hatched, in the month of August; but I think the cause of the supposition is this,—that as woodcock shooting, at flight time, continues till late in the summer, some of the males may have been shot, and a new pair may have been formed later than usual. If in shooting you meet with a brood of woodcocks, and the young ones cannot fly, the old bird takes the young ones separately between her feet, and flies from the dogs with a moaning cry. ”

“ The eastern woodrat exerts important effects on its community associates by its use of the vegetation for food, by providing shelter in its stick houses for many other small animals, and by providing a food supply for certain flesh-eaters. In the course of our observations on this rodent on the University of Kansas Natural History Reservation, extending over an eight-year period, from February, 1948, to February, 1956, these effects have changed greatly as the population of woodrats has constantly changed in density, and in extent of the area occupied. ”

“ Food of the eastern woodrat consists chiefly of vegetation; many kinds of leaves, fruits, and seeds are eaten. For many individuals foliage and seeds of the osage orange are the staple; hedge rows and dense trees of osage orange provide favorable sites for the houses. Woodrats are attracted to meat baits, and have been known to feed on flesh of carcasses, even on one of the pilot black snake which is a predator on the rat. ”

“ The woodcock, another forest bird, seldom shows himself in broad daylight except when hunted; then he will rise a few feet, fly a short distance, drop and run, hiding again as quickly as he can. You will know the woodcock from the ruffed grouse by his long bill, his short legs, and his very short tail. He frequents the banks of wooded streams or the bogs of the forests and, like the grouse, nests on the ground; but the woodcock's nest seldom contains more than four eggs. [127]
Stalking wild birds. ”

“ A woodcock never bathes in the Mare No. 1; for to them resort one after another all the large game, or those No. 2, as these are too open. The woodcocks are discreet and bashful, and, like the wives of the Sultan, love a retired bath-room, where they may disport themselves on banks ever fresh and green, perfumed with wild flowers, and immerse their fair persons in pellucid waters that have never been tainted with a drop of blood, or covered with feathers torn from the victim of the sportsman's gun. ”

“ Nevertheless, it is in this season that woodcock-shooting is the most amusing. Then is the time for gentlemen to shoot; the braconnier despises it. From the middle of April to that of May is the important epoch at which the [Pg 112] generality of animals marry, and the woodcocks are not behindhand in this respect; they leave their well-concealed retreats, become humanized, solicit the attentions of their feathered ladies, and fly with gay inspirations amongst the neighbouring bushes. But though as much in love as a widow, the woodcock does not on that account forget its habitual prudence ”

“ Of the animals which share the woodrat's habitat, many small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates use its houses and live in a somewhat commensal relationship.
Woodrats are somewhat territorial, each defending its house and an indefinite surrounding area against intrusion by others. Houses tend to be spaced at intervals of at least 40 feet; occasionally they are closer together. Most foraging for food is done within 75 feet of the house. However, woodrats often wander far beyond the limits of the usual home range. ”

“ Of boar and wolf-hunting we shall speak further on: my present object will be to give a description, not only of the woodcock-shooting in Burgundy and Le Morvan, but also of the habits, etc., of that bird.
In the forests of which we are writing, the woodcock is not a mere bird of passage, as in other European countries; it does not fly beyond sea, like the swallow and most of the emigrating feathered tribes, [Pg 101] nor does it disappear like the quail, at a fixed period, and reappear at a given moment. ”

“ He always exercised much caution in dealing with them; and, as it happened, he was by some suitable tree in almost every case when he was charged. He would accordingly climb the tree (a practise of which I do not approve, however) , and the bear would look up at him and pass on without stopping. Once, when he was hunting in the mountains with a companion, the latter, who was down in a valley, while Woody was on the hillside, shot at a bear. The first thing Woody knew the wounded grizzly, running up-hill, was almost on him from behind. As he turned it seized his rifle in its jaws. ”