V. Soils and Forests 



Forests and their Use 



FORESTRY is very important in New Hampshire, both from the stand- 

 point of the percentage of land occupied and the volume of business it 

 represents. 



Table 4 shows that 83.9 percent of New Hampshire is covered by wood- 

 lands. The variation in percentage of woodlands by counties ranges from 

 74.3 percent in Rockingham to 89.4 percent in Coos County. 



The stumpage value of the annual timber harvest in New Hampshire 

 is estimated at $5,000,000. The 1949 income of persons employed in wood- 

 using industries was estimated at $45,000,000. To obtain the complete pic- 

 ture of the value of New Hampshire forests, we must add $5,000,000 for 

 the income of self-employed persons and $45,000,000 more for income to 

 the trades which service forest industries. The estimated total yearly income 

 generated by New Hampshire's forests is therefore $100,000,000 or one 

 sixth of the total income of the State. 



*The Forest Resources of New Hampshire, Forest Resource Report No. 8. Forest 

 Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1954. 



Forests have more than a dollar value. Forests are protective as well 

 as productive. They protect the soil against erosion and encourage rainwater 

 and snow to seep into the soil, later to emerge as beneficial springs. Damag- 

 ing floods are thus reduced. 



Forests serve best as a protective cover only when the forest floor has 

 b deep layer of spongy and absorbent leaves and humus. This organic layer 

 guides rain and melted snow harmlessly into deeper layers of the soil. Even 

 when frozen, the porous organic layer is "honeycombed" and will permit 

 water to move fairly rapidly through it into deeper unfrozen soil. In this 

 way, spring flood crests are reduced. 



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