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Yellow poplar is ouo of the most valuable hanlwoods of the 

 I ouDtry. Its uatural range covers nioro than (500,000 square 

 miles from southern New Knglaml to Missouri ami south to 

 Florida and Mississippi; but the highest development of the 

 timber occurs in tlio central Apjialachian region from Maryland 

 to Georgia. 



Yellow poplar, considering both iliameter and height, is justly 

 entitled to the rank of the largest hardwood species of the United 

 States. Trees of enormous size occurred in the original forests 

 which once covered the bottom lauds and rich mountain coves 

 of the region; and a few such trees are still found, though many 

 years of lumbering have depleted the stands where formerly the 

 timber was plentiful. 



The time has now arrived when lumbermen and wood users 

 not only consider present supplies but are beginning to look to 

 the future. Y'ellow poplar naturally receives much attention. 

 People are asking what prospect there is for poplar after present 

 mature timber has been cut. 



An opportune bulletin entitled ' " Y'ellow Poplar in Tennessee" 

 has just come from the press of the Tennessee Geological Survey. 

 It was written by W. W. Ashe, who is forest examiner for the 

 United States Forest Service and is a well-known authority on 

 conditions in the southern Appalachian regions. The bulletin is 

 based on his own field work and that of his associates, and the 

 data which he presents is reliable and his conclusions valuable. 

 A summary of certain portions of the bulletin follows: 



The greater and more valuable portion of the cut of yellow 

 poplar is the product of old timber. In order that the lumber 

 may average $28 per 1,000 board feet, the trees from which this 

 lumber is sawed must have, at present prices of lumber, an average 

 diameter of twenty-seven inches, breast-high. Although the 

 amount of young timber which is cut for commercial purposes 

 is small, it has a standard and rapidly increasing value for saw 

 timber. With the continued reduction in the supply of old timber, 

 the second growth must become the chief source of future supply; 

 and consequently it is extremely important to know something 

 of the amount of young growth and its probable future price. 

 It is also desirable to know the rate of growth of the young 

 timber, the possible profit in growing it, and the best methods 

 of management for accelerating its growth and increasing its 

 value. 



The results of an investigation in Tennessee show that yellow 

 poplar has a comparatively rapid rate of growth v,hile young; 

 it seeds abundantly and reproduces freely on suitable sites, form- 

 ing either pure groups or a considerable portion of mixed seedling 

 stands. On account of its soft, white wood, which is very free 

 from large knots, it is merchantable even when of small diameter, 

 while on account of its straight stem with only moderate taper 

 it yields under the saw as large a proportion of lumber per cubic 

 feet of total volume as do the pines. On account of its intoler- 

 ance of shade its yield per acre is less than that of chestnut 

 and some of the pines, but this is offset by the rapid growth 

 of the individual tree and its vigorous response to thinnings. 

 On the whole, no other species of tree which has a wide distribu- 

 tion in Tennessee offers such excellent inducements for the pro- 

 tection of small trees, and even for propagation and planting. 

 Not only is there an assured and remunerative market for the 

 timber of small sized trees, but its rate of growth is so rapid 

 that returns are obtained at an early period for a forest tree. 

 Second growth trees are largely " sap%vood " or "white poplar," 

 but there is now no discrimination against lumber from this grade 

 of timber, and the clear sap lumber at present commands a higher 

 price than the best yellow *oartwood did twenty years ago. 



Yellow poplar is commercially important throughout Tennessee, 

 but most abundant on the limestone valley lands of the great 

 basin and in the valley of east Tennessee; in the coves and hollows 



of the Cumberland mountains, and in the lower coves of the Unaka 

 and Smoky mountains. 



On cut-over and closely culled land which has not been badly 

 burned, there is as a rule a large number of small poplar trees 

 in the coves and hollows. These trees have sprung up in the 

 openings which were made in logging. Occasionally they form 

 a continuous stand in tho narrow mountain valleys or form groups, 

 pure or nearly pure, from a square rod to several rods in extent. 

 There is often a far larger proportion of poplar numerically in 

 young stands on cut-over land than there was in the original 

 forest. This 3'oung timber will constitute a very important element 

 in the yellow poplar supjily of the future. On the other hand, 

 on forest lands from which the old yellow poplars were removed 

 before any of the other hardwoods were cut, there is usually a 

 poor replacement of young j'ellow poplar. There was not enough 

 light for the establishment of yellow poplar, and seedlings of 

 other species which are more tolerant of shade, occupied the 

 space from which the yellow poplar was cut. Where tracts have 

 been badly burned, the young yellow poplar has been largely 

 killed. 



In farmers ' wood lots there is as a rule a large amount of young 

 poplar, except where the pasturage of cattle has suppressed the 

 young trees, which is the case on many farms. There are, how- 

 ever, many pure stands of young yellow poplar of sapling and 

 pole size, on farms which have sprung up in old pastures that 

 were under fence so that cattle were excluded. While the total 

 acreage of these stands is not large, they can be made, where 

 they occur, extremely valuable if given proper management. 



There is likewise a considerable acreage of second growth timber 

 iu old coalings. While these stands are largely formed of chestnut 

 and oak sprouts, they generally contain, in the coves and hollows, 

 a larger percentage of yellow poplar than the original forest. 



While there is undoubtedly an excellent representation through- 

 out Tennessee of sapling and small pole-sized yellow poplar in 

 second growth, there is a deficiency of large pole-sized trees which 

 might become merchantable as large saw timber during the next 

 twenty to twenty five years. 



Notwithstanding the generally excellent representation of young 

 growth yellow poplar, the future supply of this timber is threat- 

 ened by the inroads which are being made on the young growth, 

 by cutting it before it is mature, for paper-pulp stock and box- 

 board bolts. 



Yellow i)opIar re])roduces chielly by means of seed. It repro- 

 duces to a limited extent by means of sprouts, but only from 

 small trees until they reach the size of poles; the sprouting of 

 old trees is unreliable. Sprouting is best in full sunlight. The 

 sprouts from trees which are shaded are weak. The seeds, which 

 are borne in small cones, are about one inch long, including the 

 slender wing, and are so light that they may be blown several 

 hundred yards from the piirent tree. The seeds from the top 

 of the cone and from the exterior will not germinate. These are 

 the last to fall from the tree, often remaining until the following 

 spring, and in collecting seed for planting they should be dis- 

 carded. Trees begin to bear fertile seed when about forty years 

 old. Seeds are produced on older trees in great abundance and 

 almost annually, but a large proportion, as a rule about ninety 

 per cent, is infertile. They ripen in September and October and 

 are in great part distributed at once bj- the wind. They largely 

 germinate during the following spring and the early part of the 

 summer, but some seem to lie over on the ground until the second 

 spring. Germination takes ]ilace wherever the soil is moist, and 

 the seedlings easily establish themselves, but they fail to survive 

 the dry periods of the first summer unless on a moist or shady 

 site. Stocking, consequently, is better on north slopes, in coves 

 and hollows or in lower slopes, than on the drier upper slopes 

 and on southern exposures. It is also best where the mineral soil 

 has been exposed, as in oil fields or where soil has been upturned 



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