902 A NATIONAL PLAN FOB AMERICAN FORESTRY 



B. Capital account: 



1. Road construction 



2. Building construction 



3. Other improvements 



4. Purchase and sale of property 



5. Etc. 



Special attention is called to the fact that all items of expense 

 except the silvicultural occur under any intelligent policy of respon- 

 sible and permanent land management. Silvicultural expense is 

 often a minor item and may not be present at all. As the operation 

 becomes established it will usually be found profitable to set up at 

 least a small budget item under that head. At this point it is desired 

 to lay all possible emphasis on the fact that the outstanding financial 

 and physical function of forestry is saving, not cost. Forestry saves 

 productivity, saves forest land investments, saves forest improve- 

 ment investments, prevents depletion, and saves all sorts of com- 

 munity investments dependent on continued productivity of the 

 forest resource. 



POTENTIAL PRODUCTIVITY 



As in the case of agricultural production, rapid rates of growth 

 and high yields are important favorable factors to be considered in 

 carrying on forestry as a business. During the past few years studies 

 of yield have been completed for many importantAmerican forest 

 tree species, especially among the conifers. Species of rapid growth 

 and high value are to be found in every important forest region. 



Table 3, adapted from a table compiled by I. T. Haig (3), shows 

 rates of growth and yield in terms of cubic feet and board feet for 

 many different conifers of the United States. It should be noted 

 that the average production over entire forest properties cannot be 

 expected to amount to more than 60 to 75 percent of the growth rates 

 shown in the table, which are those of fully stocked stands. Such 

 species as redwood, sugar pine, and Douglas fir on the Pacific coast, 

 white pines in Idaho and the Northeastern States, and loblolly, short- 

 leaf, and slash pines in the Southern States, equal or exceed the growth 

 rates of coniferous trees to be found anywhere else in the world. The 

 same is true of our hardwood species as compared with hardwoods 

 elsewhere in the north temperate zone. 



The mere fact that a given species in an even-aged stand may grow 

 rapidly from the time of origin of the stand to the time of harvest 

 60 or more years hence does not necessarily mean that the business of 

 growing such stands from origin to maturity will yield a profit. Even 

 if proved profitable in the long run it may not promote a business 

 set-up that is within the field of private capital unless the forest 

 property includes stands of many ages. For these reasons this dis- 

 cussion must be concerned chiefly with the current growth rates of 

 trees approaching maturity in selection forests, or forests where a 

 wide range of age classes are present in groups. Growth figures in 

 connection with consideration of growing-stock conditions in various 

 forest types will be presented under regional discussions. 



