SHORTLEAF PINE IN VIRGINIA 



PKODUCTION OF CORDWOOD FROM THINNED AND 

 UNTHINNED STANDS 



The yield of cordwood* is determined rather by the number 

 of trees than by the size of the individual trees. The most 

 crowded stands usually yield most heavily, and the yield appre- 

 ciably declines as the stands become more open. This has a great 

 influence upon the yield of old stands, since after the thirty-fifth 

 year there is practically no increase in the yield in cords of un- 

 thinned stands, on account of the rapid dying of the smaller trees. 

 For this reason, thinnings are not so profitable for the production 

 of cordwood as for the production of saw timber; though the trees 

 which would die are saved, and some additional growth is secured. 

 If regular thinnings are made at intervals of five years, then at 

 the age of forty-five years the increased yield, including the thin- 

 nings, is only thirty-three per cent., as against an eighty per cent. 



TABLE 5. 



Yield of thinned and unthinned stands in cords Trees three inches and 



over in diameter. 



*Column 8 Is the sum of columns 3 and 7. 



*Unless otherwise stated, all references to cords are to standard 

 cords of 128 cubic feet, and the corded wood is measured with the bark 

 on. Standard cords can be converted into long cords of 160 cubic feet 

 by dividing by 1.25 or by multiplying by 4-5. Either standard or long 

 cords with bark can be converted into cords without bark by multiplying 

 by .77, if the wood comes from trees which average less than 7 inches 

 in diameter, or multiplying by .82 if the trees average a larger diameter. 



