For hardwood sawtimber, the 1945 estimates are higher 

 for the Northern Coastal Plain, the Piedmont, and the 

 Mountains, being +6 per cent, +7 per cent, and +8, per 

 cent, respectively. The Southern Coastal Plain shows an 

 unaccountably lower estimate of hardwood, — 26 per cent 

 less than the 1938 estimate which is out of line with other 

 indicated trends. It is possible that either one or the other 

 of the two inventories may have failed to obtain a repre- 

 sentative sample of the hardwood volume in the particular 

 six counties sampled in this unit. 



Sawtimber volumes are low in the Mountain region. 

 This is due, as elsewhere, to cutting, but another factor is 

 worth mentioning. Thirty years ago, the Chestnut Blight 

 was introduced into this country and has since killed all 

 the chestnut. Formerly, about % of the timber volume 

 was chestnut, but none is represented in Appraisal vol- 

 umes. 



Survey findings indicate that pine sawtimber volumes 

 are almost 12 per cent less than eight years ago, while 

 hardwood volumes remain about the same as they were in 

 1938. Since pine has produced the greatest volume and 



best quality, especially for construction material, this 

 change in composition can be regarded as the worst fea- 

 ture in present trends. Another trend that should cause 

 concern is the decrease in number of operable stands, i. e., 

 individual stands containing at least 50 M. bd. ft. Present 

 pine sawtimber stands are becoming more and more scat- 

 tered, thus, harvesting becomes more expensive. 



Present findings indicate also an increase ih the propor- 

 tion of oak in the Coastal Plain. Few timbermen have a 

 kind word for Coastal Plain oak. It is known that the lim- 

 ited stands of virgin hardwoods in the Mountains and 

 Coastal Plain are decreasing in extent. There is no reason 

 for saving them, but the proportion of high grade hard- 

 wood is naturally reduced by their passing. 



War-time cutting has helped some hardwood stands* 

 Low-grade and previously non-salable trees that other- 

 wise might never have been cut have been utilized. 



SAWTIMBER SUITABLE FOR POLES AND PILING 



Trees suitable for poles and piling represent quality 

 pine timber, not only from the standpoint of the higher 



Table 6 

 ESTIMATED SAWTIMBER VOLUMES OF REGIONS OF N. C. 



Region, or Total Total Volume — M. Board Feet 



Survey Unit Commercial 



(see map page) Forest Acres Pine Hardwood 



NORTHERN COASTAL PLAIN 



(23 counties) 4,140,752 8,704,000 5,445,000 



SOUTHERN COASTAL PLAIN 



(21 counties) 5,607,185 7,548,000 2,580,000 



PIEDMONT 



(35 counties) 5,039,742 6,466,000 3,563,000 



MOUNTAINS 



(21 counties) 3,748,679 2,527,000 4,288,000 



STATE 



(100 counties) 18,536,358 25,245,000 15,876,000 



Total 



14,149,000 



10,128,000 



10,029,000 



6,815,000 



41,121,000 



Table 7 

 COMPARISON OF SAWTIMBER ESTIMATES, 

 1938 AND 1945 

 (1938 Estimate by U. S. Forest Survey; 1945 Estimate by 

 Forest Resource Appraisal. Both estimates are based on 

 their respective data from the same twenty-one sample 

 counties.) 



NORTHERN 



COASTAL 



PLAIN 



SOUTHERN 



COASTAL 



PLAIN 



PIEDMONT 



MOUNTAINS 



STATE 



PINE 



F. R. Appr. (1945) 



Forest Survey (1938) 



HARDWOODS 



F. R. Appr. (1945) 



Forest Survey (1938) 



TOTAL: PINE AND 

 HARDWOODS 



F. R. Appr. (1945) 



Forest Survey (1938) 



PER CENT THAT 1945 

 ESTIMATE DIFFERS 

 FROM 1938 ESTIMATE 



Average 



Volume Per Acre — Board 



Feet 







2,102 

 2,409 



1,346 

 1,417 



1,283 



1,541 



674 

 762 



1,362 

 1,531 



1,315 

 1,220 



460 

 637 



707 

 658 



1,144 

 1,061 



857 

 833 



3,417 

 3,624 



1,806 

 2,054 



1,990 

 2,199 



1,818 

 1,823 



2,219 

 2,364 



—5.8 



—12.1 



—9.5 



—0.3 



—6.1 



(14) 



