954 A NATIONAL PLAN FOB AMERICAN FORESTRY 



board feet of logs annually. This can be gotten out in a month's 

 time or less, and if sold as logs may bring as much as $500. 



The Bureau of the Census now recognizes " forest-products farms" 

 statistically. Ordinarily such a farm produces vegetables, milk, and 

 other food supplies for the owner, but the owner's cash income derives 

 chiefly from the sale of forest products. If the owner is to make good 

 use of his time throughout the year on his own property and on a basis 

 of permanence he must assemble an area of 1 ,000 acres or somewhat 

 more, of which he can cut over about 100 acres annually for logs and 

 cord wood. This is assuming that trees over 17 inches in diameter are 

 cut for saw logs and the tops cleaned up for pulpwood or other cord- 

 wood material. In addition* smaller trees of poor form for further 

 growth, or needing to be removed from too dense stands, will go into 

 cord wood. If the enterprise is to have permanence and constantly 

 improving income the owner must strive to leave each unit of the 

 forest in better condition for growth after each cutting period. 



The same principle holds with larger properties. The Southern 

 Forest Experiment Station (27), in studying selective cutting in 

 second-growth stands, has found that in mixed short-leaf-loblolly pine 

 with hardwoods cut to a 17-inch diameter limit 4,836 board feet per 

 acre of logs from trees over 17 inches can be produced in the 10 years 

 following cutting. In this case study taxes, fire protection, and ad- 

 ministrative costs involved in producing stumpage on this basis 

 amounted to 18 cents per acre per year or $1.80 for 10 years, or 37 

 cents per 1 ,000 board feet. On the basis of 1929 selling prices the gross 

 returns from stumpage utilized were $5.26 and net earnings were 

 $5.08 per acre per year. From this is derived the profits on milling 

 and logging operations as well as on the forest investment. The in- 

 vestment was $25 per acre, so that the investment earnings averaged 

 20.3 per cent net. The area studied is, no doubt, exceptionally favor- 

 able. 



If the diameter limit on the same area is reduced to 13 inches the 

 growing stock left will produce only 3,508 board feet per acre in 10 

 years. Cutting to a 13-inch limit also will yield less stumpage value 

 than in the above case. The returns will be reduced to $2.35 per acre 

 gross and $1.64 per acre net with a 10 year cutting cycle. Unfortu- 

 nately the common practice is to cut far under 13 inches and prac- 

 tically destroy the productivity of the average forest for some time 

 after cutting. 



By surveying a tract of virgin timber by the same procedure the 

 station found that if a 21 -inch diameter limit were established an 

 average of 4,000 board feet per acre could be produced in 10 years. 

 The current cost of producing stumpage, returning for a cut every 

 10 years, would be 82 cents per 1,000 board feet. This larger stump- 

 age is much more valuable and the net returns, on the basis of 1929 

 costs and sales prices, become $5.67 per acre. From this must be 

 derived all profits on the entire operation. The investment in this 

 case is $35 per acre. 



The low production costs in these three examples are the result 

 of moderate taxes and low costs of fire protection and administra- 

 tion, combined with rapid growth, in stands that have not been 

 seriously depleted or overcapitalized. These low costs are immedi- 

 ately attainable only in stands already reasonably well stocked, a 

 description that unfortunately fits only a rather low percentage of 



