A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



181 



The trees below saw-log size, on a large proportion of the saw- 

 timber area (table 4) should be considered as growing stock rather 

 than as timber available for harvesting. Over a third of the total 

 possible cordwood supply on saw-timber areas is estimated to be in 

 the form of tops and limbs of saw-timber trees. As a means of 

 preserving growing stock and conserving waste, it is highly desirable 

 that this material should be utilized up to the measure of present 

 feasible and economical woods practice. Leaving this material in 

 the woods to burn or rot, according to present general practice, 

 represents far more than the mere loss of so much raw material. 

 Progress in utilizing such material will not only have the practical 

 effect of increasing the country's wood supply; it will facilitate fire 

 prevention and control, curb somewhat the tendency toward the 

 too-early cutting of promising saw timber, and leave the land in 

 better condition for restocking. 



TABLE 4. Stand of cordwood on saw-timber areas in the United States, by type of 



material and region 



1 Less than saw-timber size but large enough for cordwood. 

 3 Of saw-timber trees; only the tops in the case of softwoods. 



One effective way for reducing and utilizing not only logging waste 

 but also wood waste in general is to be found in the integration of a 

 variety of wood-using industries, either under one ownership or around 

 an industrial wood-using center. Such a set-up results in the utiliza- 

 tion of large volumes of the different forms of wood waste, and in turn 

 permits of the specialization required in the manufacture of diverse 

 mechanical and chemical products. Also, improved logging, manufac- 

 turing, and marketing methods doubtless can be developed. Research 

 can aid in all these things, especially in improving the usefulness of 

 wood as wood, and in creating new chemical and other products 

 derived from wood. 



In brief, requirements for cordwood material ordinarily should not 

 be allowed to impair the growing stock on either saw-timber or cord- 

 wood areas, but should be satisfied, first, with as complete utilization 

 as is practicable of tops and limbs on saw-timber areas; and, second, 

 by improvement cuttings on areas where growth of the remaining 

 stand can thereby be increased. Beyond this, and certain obviously 

 exceptional instances where the only economical and reasonable course 

 is a cordwood rotation, the emphasis should consistently be placed on 

 the development of cordwood into saw-timber stands. 



