2 BULLETIN 299, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGBICTJLTTJEE. 



This bulletin aims to make clear the economic status of ash; to 

 differentiate the species, in regard to which there is considerable 

 confusion, and to indicate their relative importance; to describe 

 the characteristics of the more important species; and to outline 

 methods of forest management for commercial growing of ash timber. 



THE LUMBER CUT OF COMMERCIAL SPECIES. 



The census returns for the past decade indicate an annual cut 

 of from 200 to 300 million feet of ash lumber, less than 1 per cent 

 of the total cut of all species and between 2\ and 3 per cent of the 

 total cut of hardwoods. In rank in lumber production ash stands 

 twentieth or twenty-first among ■ all species and tenth or eleventh 

 among hardwoods. In addition to the lumber cut the census returns 

 show 25 to 35 million board feet of ash used annually in slack cooper- 

 age for staves, heading, and hoops. The total annual cut in lumber 

 and cooperage appears to be about the same as for hickory or for 

 cottonwood. Ash does not figure in the census returns for poles, 

 ties, and other products. 



The census figures indicate further that the annual production 

 of ash lumber was maintained or somewhat increased during the 

 decade from 1899 to 1909, but since that time it has considerably 

 decreased. In average f. o. b. value per 1,000 board feet of ash 

 lumber there was an increase of 54 per cent in 1909 over 1899. This 

 increase in price was not maintained during succeeding years, how- 

 ever, which is due largely to an increased proportion of lower grades 

 in the total output. A general survey of the supply of ash timber 

 leads to the conclusion that the high-water mark in the production 

 of ash lumber in the United States, both in quantity and quality 

 of output, has been passed, and it is not likely that either the amount 

 or value of the 1909 cut will ever be equaled. 



Another interesting point to be observed in the census figures is the 

 constant shifting in rank of ash-lumber-producing States. In 1899 

 the cut in Michigan, which was from virgin forests, was greater than 

 in any three other States combined, while in 1911 Michigan had 

 dropped to seventh place, with an output one-sixth as great as that of 

 1899. Ohio and Indiana, where the cut is practically all from second 

 growth, ranked third and fifth, respectively, in 1909, but rose to first 

 and third places in 1911, although in each case there was considerable 

 decrease in the actual amount of the output. Arkansas, on the other 

 hand, where the cut is from old-growth forest, dropped from first to 

 second place in 1911 and decreased 40 per cent in amount of produc- 

 tion from 1909 to 1911. If the production of ash for cooperage stock 

 were added to the lumber cut, however, Arkansas would still be far in 

 the lead. These figures indicate the waning importance of old as com- 

 pared with second growth. The decline in total production is due to 



