260 



ucts that can be harvested for chemi- 

 cal wood, pulpwood, veneer bolts, and 

 sawlogs. 



Today, after 37 years of operation, 

 timber reserves are substantially equal 

 to the initial forest capital with which 

 the company was launched. With re- 

 striction of sawlogs cut, the company 

 erected a wood-chemical plant, veneer 

 mill, shingle mill, and pulp mill for 

 roofing felt to use the wood in defec- 

 tive trees, treetops, and young trees cut 

 in thinnings. In this way the work vol- 

 ume has been maintained. The better 

 grades of lumber are kiln-dried for 

 special uses. 



Timber growth and yield is now de- 

 termined on the basis of tree-vigor 

 classes. Integrated utilization and mar- 

 keting have been so coordinated that 

 tree marking for best silviculture is 

 identical with tree marking for finan- 

 cial return. Officials of the company 

 are convinced that by selective cutting 

 and integrated utilization, the income 

 from operations during the past 20 

 years has been as high as the income 

 would have been from the liquidation 

 cutting. The property now, however, 

 is valuable as a going enterprise and 

 can continue indefinitely to yield cur- 

 rent high returns in terms of output. 

 Employment, good will, and the tax 

 base also are permanent. 



Much more efficient utilization has 

 doubled the number of man-hours of 

 work per unit of timber cut. The com- 

 pany is today a good example of inte- 

 grated utilization for a relatively small 

 operation. The company built a town 

 with stores, schools, churches, and 

 homes for its employees. A modern 

 village with desirable living conditions 

 is important, because skilled workers 

 in forests and conversion plants are 

 essential for the success of integrated 

 utilization and good forestry practice. 

 Good forest management has also de- 

 veloped on the farm woodlands adja- 

 cent to Goodman, because the owners 

 are assured a continuing, nearby mar- 

 ket for their forest products. 



A few other lumber companies have 

 tried to follow a forestry program. 



Yearbook^ of Agriculture 1949 



The VonPlaten-Fox Go. of northern 

 Michigan is one. Its ownership is less 

 concentrated, and some difficulties have 

 been encountered in getting all owners 

 to subscribe to a long-term manage- 

 ment program. 



The Patten Timber Company and 

 the Ford Motor Company in Michi- 

 gan and the Roddis Lumber and Ve- 

 neer Company of Wisconsin also have 

 been practicing selective cutting. 



Although it is not strictly a lumber 

 company, the Draper Corporation, 

 manufacturers of spools and textile 

 machinery, have acquired substantial 

 areas of forest land and are engaged in 

 organizing it for sustained-yield for- 

 estry. Because many of the company's 

 products are made from wood turn- 

 ings, it is possible for them to use timber 

 in relatively small sizes. Their program 

 is still new, but promises to be one of 

 the more intensive forestry efforts in 

 the North. 



MINING COMPANIES of necessity own 

 considerable areas of forest land to 

 control subsurface rights. The average 

 company, however, owns considerably 

 fewer than 50,000 acres, and pays little 

 attention ordinarily to the timber the 

 land supports. Timbers are essential 

 for deep-mining operations, but most 

 companies have chosen to buy from 

 others the timber they need for mine 

 ties, props, lagging, and other pur- 

 poses, rather than to grow it on com- 

 pany lands. As local props become 

 scarce, however, companies turn their 

 attention to their own forest lands. 

 Some employ foresters and have 

 started forestry programs. A few have 

 had programs of sorts under way for 

 30 or 40 years, but have not followed 

 them with vigor or steadfastness of 

 purpose. 



One West Virginia company that 

 has a large holding of coal land now 

 has a broad forestry program. Timber 

 is being leased separately from coal. 

 Diameter limits for cutting are speci- 

 fied and are varied to favor the species 

 that are best for mine props and lum- 

 ber. Close utilization and concentra- 



