TABLE No. 4 Growth of Forest in Cords 



Annual 



Growth Total 



Area Per Cent of per Acre Growth 



Acres Total Area Cords Cords 



1001.2 



100 



296.8 



i 



These figures are secured by dividing the tota 

 inventory of each quality class by the age. The 

 area is divided about evenly between the best 

 site (Quality I, 38%), the poorest site (Quality 

 III, 32%) and the medium site (Quality II, 

 30 % ) . The average growth on the poorest land, 

 the top of the ridge, has been one-fifth of a cord, 

 and on the best soils two-fifths of a cord. This 

 growth even on the best sites is low because of 

 the loss of the chestnut. If the growth had been 

 studied twenty years ago, before the appearance 

 of the chestnut disease, it would undoubtedly 

 have been much greater, for it was not uncommon 

 in those days for our forests to grow one cord 

 per acre per annum. These growth figures con- 

 form fairly well with similar studies in Penn. 1 

 where pure stands of chestnut formerly produced 

 a cord to the acre a year. It was found that 

 white and chestnut oaks will produce only 30 to 

 40 per cent as much, while scarlet and red oaks 

 will produce 50 to 60 per cent as much. Replacing 

 chestnut with oaks therefore reduces the pro- 

 ductivity of the forest about 50% so far as 



1 Problems arisine from the loss of our Chestnut, Forest 

 Leaves, 17-153-155. E. A. Ziegler. 



20 



