. American forestry. Forests and forestry. FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA 387. ];JMJ1X(. i\_)l'l,AK BOARDS VUii I'XroRT, SWAIN CUUxXTV. culture, some of which is now reverting to forest, 7G per cent of this region is forested, or a Httle more than three milHon acres in the IG counties. PRESENT STAND The greater part of the forest has been reduced to cull stands of compara- tively small and second class timber. Only two or three counties have virgin forests of any considerable extent, and these are mostly controlled by large lumber firms. Table 1 shows the rela- tive amount of fore
. American forestry. Forests and forestry. FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA 387. ];JMJ1X(. i\_)l'l,AK BOARDS VUii I'XroRT, SWAIN CUUxXTV. culture, some of which is now reverting to forest, 7G per cent of this region is forested, or a Httle more than three milHon acres in the IG counties. PRESENT STAND The greater part of the forest has been reduced to cull stands of compara- tively small and second class timber. Only two or three counties have virgin forests of any considerable extent, and these are mostly controlled by large lumber firms. Table 1 shows the rela- tive amount of forest in each county, by areas and by species. About eleven billion feet of timber in trees 10 inches and over in diameter breasthigh re- mains ; this is equivalent to an average stand of a little more than 3,000 board feet for every acre of forest land. The larger part of the forested area, how- ever, has less than this, as shown on the accompanying forest map. ANNUAL OUTPUT The lumber cut for the entire State, which had been gradually rising, amounted to more than 1,()22 million feet in 1907, but because of business de- pression declined 30 per cent in 1908. In 1909 North Carolina jumped to fourth place, from thirteenth in 1908, with a cut of 2,177,715,000 board feet. It is estimated that uncared-for hard- wood forests, such as those in Western North Carolina, are growing at the rate of from 12 to 15 cubic feet per acre per year. Assuming even that the greater figure represents the annual growth in this region, then the timber is being cut much faster than it is growing. This can not last indefinitely. Either the annual cut must be reduced to coincide with the growth, or else the growth must be made to keep pace with the demands upon it. The latter is cer- tainly the most economical and busi- nesslike way of dealing with the prob- lem. By protecting these forests from fire, and by encouraging the more rap- id-growing and more valuable species, the annual yield of timber per acre
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectforestsandforestry
