326 UNITED STATES FOREST POLICY 



species of timber. Thus, the three largest holders in the country had 

 almost all of their lands in the Pacific Northwest, where the stand is 

 generally highest. It is true that the average stand of the Northern 

 Pacific lands is low — only 11,500 feet per acre, but this is due to the 

 fact that the Northern Pacific for many years followed the policy of 

 selling its best lands to timber owners, notably to the Weyerhaeuser 

 Timber Company ; and the average stand of the Weyerhaeuser lands 

 is very high — nearly 50,000 feet per acre. The average stand for the 

 Pacific Northwest was 32,000 feet, of the southern pine region 6100 

 and of the Lake states 5600. In the redwood lands of California, it was 

 found that the six largest holders had an average stand of 113,000 

 feet per acre, while the next smaller group of holders averaged only 

 90,000 feet per acre. In the Lake states, the average stand for holdings 

 of 60,000,000 feet and over was one fourth greater than the average 

 stand of holdings below that size; in the southern pine region, two 

 fifths greater; and in the Pacific Northwest, three fourths greater. 

 In the coast states, the average for such holdings was nearly twice as 

 great as the average for smaller holdings. Even among the large 

 holdings — those of 60,000,000 each or more — the relatively smaller 

 holdings had the least timber per acre. 



LARGE HOLDINGS INCLUDE THE MOST VALUABLE SPECIES 



The large owners had not only the highest stands, but also the most 

 valuable species of timber. In the Pacific Northwest, there is of course 

 no great variety of timber. The forests are almost wholly coniferous, 

 and there are not such wide differences of value as in the South, 

 between yellow pine and the gums, for instance. 



In the southern pine region, holders of 60,000,000 feet each or 

 more owned over 50 per cent of the valuable longleaf pine and only 20 

 per cent of the low value hardwoods ; while the smaller holders had 21 

 per cent of the longleaf and 47 per cent of the hardwoods. In Alabama, 

 hardwoods constituted only 15.2 per cent of the larger holdings and 

 42.8 per cent of the smaller holdings. The thirteen largest holders in 

 this state had 29.7 per cent of the longleaf pine, 7.3 per cent of the 

 shortleaf and loblolly, and only 3.9 per cent of the hardwoods. In 

 Louisiana, the large holders (those owning 60,000,000 feet or over) 

 had 80.7 per cent of the yellow pine and cypress and only 42.6 per 



