176 



A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



New England 



Middle Atl a nil c_. 

 Lake 



Central 



South _. 



Pacific Coast 



N. Rocky Mt 



S. Rocky Mt_. 



25 50 75 100 



Billion Feet Board Measure 



150 



Softwoods 



Hardwoods 



FIGURE 4. Second-growth saw-timber stand of the United States by regions. 



TABLE 1. Stand of saw-timber in the United States, by character of growth and 



region 



[In million feet board measure] 



The volume of second-growth saw timber is far too small for a 

 desirable balance with old growth, cord wood, and smaller growth, 

 considering the large proportion of the total forest area that has been 

 cut over. This is in part because of the practice in important regions 

 like the South, of cutting the second-growth trees as soon as they reach 

 merchantable size, but before they have reached physical or economic 

 maturity. It is also due to the all too prevalent lack of interest in 

 maintaining the continued productivity of the land following cutting, 

 whether of old growth or second growth. A third cause is fire, which 

 prevents or delays restocking on millions of acres of cut-over lands 

 and retards growth even after a new stand is established. 



The steady progress of the lumber industry from the Northeast and 

 Lake States to the South and in turn to the West is reflected in the 



