Agricultural lands assume value on the basis of what 

 they will produce. This is not true of forest land. Forest 

 lands are given a value depending on what is present on 

 the land. The forest land areas are classified in some coun- 

 ties as timberland or cut-over timberland, the latter hav- 

 ing the lesser value. In other counties, forest land is con- 

 sidered along with agricultural land and an average figure 

 per acre is the basis for the assessment. In some counties 

 timberland has a higher assessed value than agricultural 

 land. 



In spite of the unfairness of the classification to owners 

 of large timber tracts, taxes are not unduly high in many 

 counties, the eastern counties having the fairest assess- 

 ment on timberlands. 



Average land valuations for tax purposes are shown in 

 Table 24. These figures were compiled from 40 sample 

 counties. 



Present tax laws can be made to work fairly if they are 

 properly administered. Inequalities frequently arise from 

 the present assessment policies which do not consider the 

 productive capacity of timberland as compared to agricul- 

 tural land. 



Generally speaking, examples of excessive taxation on 

 large timber tracts have not been noted. Such cases do 

 exist, but there is also a tendency on the part of many 

 people to complain about taxes merely as a matter of prin- 

 ciple. Some farmers in the Piedmont have the most cause 

 for complaint when their forest land is assessed at the 

 same value as their agricultural land. 



THE TIMBER VOLUME BALANCE SHEET 



The Forest Resource Appraisal did not attempt a study 

 of growth based on new field data. The information pre- 

 sented on this subject is from the thorough study by the 

 U. S. Forest Survey in 1937 and 1938. No other estimates 

 of growth in North Carolina are available. 



Table 23 shows that during the seven-year period, 1937 

 through 1943, the average annual net growth of sawtimber 

 material was 2,311,000 M. bd. ft. Nearly three-fourths of 



the sawtimber growth was made by pine; over one-fourth 

 was made by hardwoods and cypress. The table shows how 

 this growth is distributed among the four regions. 



Sawtimber growth apparently has not declined, although 

 the total amount of sawtimber volume has declined. The 

 reason for this is that heavy cutting of sawtimber trees 

 has, in effect, swapped large trees for smaller ones. The 

 smaller trees produce wood at a more rapid rate. It is 

 pointed out, however, that the quality of the sawtimber 

 growth on smaller trees is not equal in value to the same 

 volume of wood on larger trees. 



According to Forest Survey calculations, sawtimber 

 growth was a litle higher in 1943 than in 1937. Three 

 regions are figured to have shared in the gain, only the 

 Piedmont showing a decrease in sawtimber growth. All 

 changes are negligible. 



The growth estimates for all sound trees 5.0 inches 

 d.b.h., and larger, include sawlog trees, upper stems of 

 pine sawlog trees (but not hardwoods), and sound under- 

 sawlog-size trees. The rate of growth of the sound-tree 

 growing stock increased in the period from 1937 through 

 1943, all regions showing a gain except the North Coastal 

 Plain. 



Average Net Growth per Acre. Based on the stands 

 present in 1937 and 1938, the Forest Survey calculated the 

 net sawtimber growth for the average wooded acre in 

 North Carolina to be 131 board feet. Loblolly pine types 

 averaged over 200 board feet per acre while upland hard- 

 woods were lowest, being under 70 (This fact emphasizes 

 the desirability of growing pine where feasible on upland 

 sites, as stressed elsewhere in this report). By regions, 

 average growth per acre was 163, 128, 149, and 72, board 

 feet for the North Coastal Plain, South Coastal Plain, 

 Piedmont, and Mountains, respectively. 



Average growth per acre for the total sound-tree grow- 

 ing stock was about % cord for the state as a whole. It 

 ranged from .41 cord in the Mountains to .68 cord in the 

 Piedmont. 



Growth estimates are of necessity based on calculations. 



Table 23. 



FOREST GROWTH COMPARED WITH COMMODITY DRAIN* 



Annual average based on 7 year period 1937 through 1943 



AVERAGE NET ANNUAL GROWTH 



All Sound Trees 

 Sawtimber 5.0" D.B.H. and Larger 



Pine Hardwoods Total Pine Hardwoods Total 



(Million Board Feet) (Thousand Cords) 



N. Coastal Plain 477 174 651 1,228 742 1,970 



S. Coastal Plain 554 154 708 1,793 751 2,544 



Piedmont 507 191 698 2,167 1,201 3,368 



Mountains 107 147 254 448 980 1,428 



State 1.645 666 2,311 5,636 3,674 9,310 



AVERAGE ANNUAL COMMODITY DRAIN 



N. Coastal Plain 442 156 598 1,387 538 1,925 



S. Coastal Plain 477 170 647 1,597 672 2,269 



Piedmont 686 170 856 2,450 798 3,248 



Mountains 112 167 279 413 697 1,110 



State • 1,717 663 2,380 5,847 2,705 8,552 



Cypress is included with hardwoods. 



* From Forest Survey Release No. 18, "N. C. Forest Growth and Drain 1937-1943," by J. W. Cruikshank and A. D. Toler. 



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