230 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



such as fire wood and fence rails. With 

 this drain continued it can readily be 

 seen that the forest wealth of the State 

 will eventually become exhausted. 



"There is no need, however, for this 

 to come about. By the application of 

 forestry with fire protection as the first 

 step, the annual growth could not only 

 be made equal to the present cut, but 

 it could in all probability be doubled, 

 permitting a gradual increase in the 

 cut without injury to the forest. 



"An increase in the annual yield of 

 only 10 board feet per acre woiild give 

 an additional timber growth in South 

 Carolina of 100,000,000 board feet. 

 With a conservative sale value of $15 

 per thousand when manufactiired, this 

 would mean an increased annual in- 

 come from timber products of $1,500,- 

 000 distributed principally among those 

 who furnish the labor and materials for 

 marketing the products. To obtain 

 this increased income the State could 

 well afford to invest an appropriation 

 of $10,000, $20,000, or even $30,000. 

 Sums such as these would, moreover, be 

 very cheap insurance for the protection 



of standing timber estimated to be 30 

 billion board feet worth at least $60,- 

 000,000 to the owners, and many times 

 that to the people of the State if saved 

 for manufacture. 



' ' In framing forest legislation for South 

 Carolina, one important fact should be 

 kept in mind. Practically all the tim- 

 ber of the State is in the hands of 

 private owners. If forestry is to be 

 practiced in South Carolina, then, it 

 must be by these same owners of forest 

 land. For this reason the State should 

 endeavor to make the practice of for- 

 estry by private owners as easy as 

 possible by removing such a serious 

 obstacle as lack of protection from fire. 

 At the same time it should educate the 

 owners of timberland, through actual 

 cooperation with them, to the need of 

 adopting practical forestry on their 

 holdings. This should be South Caro- 

 lina's chief aim in forestry. It can be 

 accomplished by (1) the organization of 

 a non-partisan forest department, (2) 

 the appointment of a technically trained 

 man as State forester, (3) the establish- 

 ment of a fire protective system, and 

 (4) an adequate appropriation of funds." 



FIRE SEASON CLOSED 



WITH the snows which fell 

 early in January, the fire 

 season in the southern Ap- 

 palachain mountains has 

 practically closed for this winter. The 

 record of fires on the land which the 

 government has acquired for national 

 forests was much better during Decem- 

 ber than in November. During No- 

 vember forest officers reported 47 fires 

 on or near government land, while in 

 December there were only twelve. Of 

 course, part of this decrease is due to the 

 colder weather. 



In all approximately 700,000 acres 

 have been protected from fire during 

 December. The total area burned over 



will not exceed 300 acres; the foresters 

 consider this, as compared with the 

 acreage under protection, comparatively 

 insignificant, and point out that it 

 forms less than one-twentieth of one 

 per cent of the area under protection. 



During January and February, it 

 was not necessary to employ any fire 

 fighters or patrolmen. However, if the 

 snow should disappear and the leaves 

 get dry, patrol will be started again. 

 The spring fire season usually opens 

 about the first of March. From this 

 time until the green vegetation is well 

 established in May, it is necessary to 

 patrol the woods with the greatest care. 



The forest service is compiling a new volume table for calculating the board contents of standing 

 western yellow pine trees in the southwest. It is based on actual measurements of 6,000 trees. 



