Figure 1 will show that a somewhat heavier sample was 

 taken in the Eastern half of the state. Shortage of time 

 iorced a reduced sample in the Piedmont and Mountains. 

 Although a higher proportion of counties was included in 

 the Mountains than in the Piedmont, fewer plots were 

 taken in each county, so that the two regions have about 

 the same intensity of sampling. Separate estimates of vol- 

 ume are worked up for the four units, so differences in the 

 degree of sampling do not affect the over-all picture. 



More detailed information regarding sawtimber esti- 

 mates and trends for each of the four sections of the state 

 are shown in Tables 5, 6, and 7. 



The 21 sample counties included 4,874,000 acres of for- 

 est land, or 23.6 per cent of the state total. Using average 

 volumes per acre from the county inventories to arrive 

 first at regional estimates, and from these to arrive at a 

 state estimate, North Carolina's 18,536,000 acres of com- 

 mercial forest were found to contain 41,121,000,000 board 

 feet of sawlog-size timber. 



Pines totalled 25,245,000,000 board feet, hardwoods and 

 •cypress 15,876,000,000 board feet. 



Appraisal Findings Indicate Sawtimber Supply Declined 

 During the War Period. Southern Forests were called upon 

 to provide enormous quantities of lumber, pulpwood, and 

 other timber material during the war years. The idea is 

 generally accepted that sawtimber growing stock has been 

 depleted. Since the felling, sawing, and hauling of timber 



is a much more evident happening than the imperceptible 

 yearly renewal by tree growth, the consensus of public 

 opinion appears to be that the forests are disappearing. 



This is not the case in North Carolina, despite the war- 

 time requisitions. The state had a thorough timber inven- 

 tory in 1937-38 — the first cruise in its history by the U. S. 

 Forest Survey. Therefore, comparison can be made be- 

 tween the first and second inventories to get an idea of 

 the general changes that may have been in progress dur- 

 ing the eight-year interval. Specifications regarding tree 

 sizes and conditions are the same for one inventory as for 

 the other. No timber cruise is completely accurate, but 

 where the field of sampling is broad, including many mil- 

 lions of acres and billions of board feet, probability of 

 sampling error is reduced. A substantial difference in fig- 

 ures thus would be an indication of trends. 



The Forest Resource Appraisal estimate of total saw- 

 timber stand is 6.1 per cent less than the Forest Survey 

 inventory in 1937 and 1938; the pine estimate is 12 per 

 cent lower, while hardwood is unchanged. The percentages 

 are obtained by comparisons with 1938 Forest Survey esti- 

 mates for the same 21 counties as sampled by the Ap- 

 praisal. 



Appraisal estimates of pine sawtimber are lower for 

 the Northern Coastal Plain, the Southern Coastal Plain, 

 the Piedmont, and Mountain Units, being — 13 per cent, 

 — 5 per cent, — 18 per cent and — 11 per cent, respectively. 



Table 5 

 ESTIMATED SAWTIMBER VOLUMES FOR 21 SAMPLE COUNTIES 



County 



Commercial 

 Forest Acres 



Total Volume 



M Board Feet 



Pine Hardwood 



Average Volume Per Acre 

 Board Feet 

 Pine Hardwood 



Total 



Beaufort 363,779 



Bertie 306,916 



Currituck 80,022 



Halifax 239,357 



Tyrrell 213,481 



Bladen 424,795 



Harnett 238,134 



Jones 231,931 



Pender 465,111 



Richmond 191,411 



Wayne 175,824 



Caswell 152,842 



Gaston 85,233 



Randolph 303,483 



Wake 306,320 



Yadkin 94,122 



Ashe 90,138 



Buncombe 271,632 



Caldwell 220,551 



Graham 169,100 



Jackson 252,724 



* Some present, but none on plots tallied. 



NORTHERN COASTAL PLAIN 



612,698 



324,127 



1,685 



891 



2,576 



1,031,851 



618,436 



3,362 



2,015 



5,377 



172,928 



125,074 



2,161 



1,563 



3,724 



337,733 



383,210 



1,411 



1,601 



3,012 



376,154 



132,358 



1,762 



620 



2,382 



SOUTHERN COASTAL PLAIN 









419,697 



313,499 



988 



738 



1,726 



300,287 



121,686 



1,261 



511 



1,772 



397,066 



83,031 



1,712 



358 



2,070 



480,460 



155,812 



1,033 



335 



1,368 



261,850 



69,291 



1,368 



362 



1,730 



466,461 



50,813 



2,653 



289 



2,942 



PIEDMONT 











186,926 



74,281 



1,223 



486 



1,709 



130,747 



68,016 



1,534 



798 



2,332 



157,811 



221,543 



520 



730 



1,250 



598,856 



211,667 



1,955 



691 



2,646 



134,500 



91,299 



1,429 



970 



2,399 



MOUNTAINS 











* 



109,518 



* 



1,215 



1,215 



264,298 



330,033 



973 



1,215 



2,188 



313,844 



157,694 



1,423 



715 



2,138 



41,091 



224,227 



243 



1,326 



1,569 



58,379 



327,025 



231 



1,294 



1,525 



(13) 



