FOREST CONDITIONS IN TENNESSEE. 9 



is worth about $6 a thousand. The stumpage value of average 

 quality red oak in Middle and East Tennessee is about $3. 



Yellow poplar is obtained from nearly every part of the State 

 and brings from $3 to $5 more than white oak. 



White pine is produced mostly in the eastern part of the Cum- 

 berland Plateau region, in the Valley of East Tennessee, and along 

 the western borders of the Appalachian Mountains. It is usually 

 worth about $2 or $3 a thousand on the stump. 



Hemlock, which is obtained from the Cumberlands and Appa- 

 lachian Mountains, is worth about $1.50 or $2 a thousand, includ- 

 ing the bark, while white pine with a somewhat similar commercial 

 distribution brings from $3 to $4 a thousand. 



Chestnut is of commercial importance throughout Middle and' 

 East Tennessee, and usually is worth on the stump from $1 to $2 

 a thousand. 



The value of hickory is especially uncertain, owing to its great 

 variation in quality and to the fact that a special market and spe- 

 cial methods of logging are required. In one large lumbering oper- 

 ation in the Cumberlands the hickory is left standing because of the 

 difficulty of finding a suitable market. In general, it is worth from 

 $2 to $5 on the stump. In West Tennessee, where the quality is 

 as a rule not very good, it brings only about $3, based on a haul of 

 two trips a day. 



The West Tennessee " soft woods," such as gum, ash, and cotton- 

 wood, are worth from $2 to $4 a thousand on the stump. When 

 sold separately, ash and cottonwood are valued somewhat higher 

 than gum. Here there is little true white oak, and all the oaks are 

 usually classed together as to stumpage value, which is about $6 

 or $7. There is little market for beech, and it is of no value unless 

 located directly on the railroad, when it sometimes brings from $1 

 to $2 a thousand. 



SAW TIMBER. 



In 1909 there were over 2,500 active sawmills in Tennes- 

 see. Most of them were of small capacity and operated inter- 

 mittently, with an average cut of only about 490,000 board feet. 

 Only 33 mills cut over 5,000,000 board feet, and nearly half of these 

 were located in or near Memphis and received a great deal of raw 

 material from other States. The number of small mills is increas- 

 ing as the larger bodies of timber are cut over and it becomes neces- 

 sary to lumber small and scattered tracts. There is a great deal 



