Chestnut in Tennessee 



COMMERCIAL OUTLOOK 



Chestnut, because of the extensive and rapidly increasing use 

 of its wood as a source of tanning material, has become one of the 

 most important forest trees of Tennessee. There are now seven 

 tannic extract plants in operation within the State, and all use 

 chestnut wood and bark, though some use in addition, the wood 

 or bark of chestnut oak. To supply these plants more than 50,000 

 cords of wood are cut yearly in Tennessee with a value of about 

 $187,500 at the shipping points. In addition to the extensive use 

 of the wood for tannin, the census of 1909 reports 71,962,000 feet 

 of chestnut lumber cut in Tennessee, with a mill value of $1,121,888. 

 There were also produced 120,000 sets of heading valued at $5,520, 

 and a large number of staves, ties, and poles valued at not less than 

 $325,000. On a most conservative basis the chestnut is, therefore, 

 worth $1,640,000 annually to the State. With the continued reduc- 

 tion in the available supply of other native tannin materials, the 

 chief of which are hemlock and chestnut oak bark, chestnut 

 must become the chief remaining source of supply, and its use will 

 increase. Since low grade chestnut wood and small-sized pieces, 

 including the bark, can be used for tannin stock, this industry in 

 connection with lumbering, permits the complete utilization of the 

 tree. Chestnut has a comparatively rapid growth ; it occupies ex- 

 tensive areas either in pure stands or as the dominant species in 

 mixed stands; it grows on land which has a comparatively low 

 value for agriculture, and reproduces freely by sprouts as well as 

 by seed. These are natural advantages which the tree offers for 

 management. Further, its yield can be largely augmented by pro- 

 tecting the forest from fire, and by thinning young stands ; and the 

 value of the forest can be additionally enhanced by systems of cut- 

 ting designed to produce the most valuable class of commercial 

 products. All these things combine to make the commercial man- 

 agement of chestnut forests a feasible and profitable undertaking. 



