22 



UNIV. OF N. H. AGR. EXPERIMENT STATION 



[Bulletin 217 



are being cut or destroyed more than four times as fast as they are being 

 replaced by growth, as shown in the following, Figure 4. 



The trend of stumpage prices in New Hampshire, as shown in Figure 

 5, reflects the changes in the timber situation. Stumpage increased 

 from 50 cents per thousand feet in 1850 to $12 in 1920, and in view of 

 the decreasing forest reserves and increasing transportation cost we can 

 expect further increases in the future. 



Fig. 4.* 



RELATION BETWEEN FOREST DEPLETION AND 

 FOREST GROWTH IN UNITED STATES. 1920 



MILLIONS OF CUBIC FEET 

 10 15 20 



25 



30 



CUT AND _p 

 DESTROYED 



GROWTH 



* U. S. D. A. Bulletin No. 

 per acre per annum. 



1119. Lumber cut in the U. S. 1870-1920, cubic feet 



Production. 



Timber production in Cheshire County offers the farm owner a good 

 supplementary cash crop in the operation of a general farm; or forest 

 products may be .made the main crop, and tilled crops secondary, or the 

 entire farm devoted to trees. A woodlot of 100 to 200 acres with its 

 demands for winter work gives a more uniform distribution of labor on 

 the general farm throughout the year, and sales of cordwood should make 

 a good annual cash return. On those farms that have been abandoned 

 or which have only a small acreage of tillable land, the owners should 

 find timber production a means of securing a profitable return on their 

 investment. 



Increased production of timber in the county would also improve the 

 market situation for other farm products. A large timber supply would 

 furnish labor for a larger number of people and help to hold or increase 

 population, thus maintaining a home demand for farm products, which 

 is the basis of Cheshire County agriculture. Cheshire County furnishes 

 an especially good market for timber, because of the large number of 

 wood-using factories in Keene, and it is important to the farmers of this 

 county that these industries be maintained. 



The cost of producing pine in any locality and its value at present 

 prices can be approximately determined. Naturally with increasing 

 prices the value of this growth would be proportionally higher by the 

 time present plantings are marketed. The Forestry Commission of the 

 State of New Hampshire in its biennial report for June 30, 1924, makes 

 the estimate, shown in Table V, of cost and value of producing white pine. 



