growth rate of residual stands from cuttings made 

 20 or more years ago had so accelerated that the 

 stands had taken on the general characteristics of 

 second growth, they were so classified, regardless of 

 tree size. None of the cottonwood-willow type has 

 been classed as old growth. Because this type usu- 

 ally grows on new-made land on river banks, or on 

 old fields, and usually passes through but one short 

 rotation as a distinct type, it uniformly exhibits 

 second-growth characteristics. For similar reasons, 

 the hackberry-elm-ash type on new-made land 

 and all types on abandoned clearings have always 

 been classed as second growth, or reproduction. 



Table 5 classifies the forest area by forest type and 

 forest condition. In interpreting this table, it must 

 not be inferred that there is always a direct rela- 

 tionship between the partly cut areas of a given 

 type and the uncut areas of the same type. For 

 example, it is not to be assumed that the 186,300 

 acres of old-growth partly cut hackberry-elm-ash 

 type was at one time uncut old growth of this same 

 type. As a matter of fact, a large part of this area 

 was originally in old-growth uncut red gum-water 

 oak. Commercial cutting removed the red gum 

 and part of the water oaks, leaving a stand in which 

 hackberry, elm, and ash predominated. Similarly, 

 part of the 266,500 acres of old-growth partly cut 

 overcup oak-bitter pecan type was at one time old- 

 growth uncut red gum-water oak. 



Old-growth partly cut stands are of two distinct 

 kinds — stands that have been lightly cut, com- 

 mercially speaking, and stands that have been sub- 

 jected to a full commercial cutting that removed 



all timber suitable for the manufacture of lumber, 

 cooperage, and veneer. A large part of the 709,000 

 acres in the old-growth partly cut condition falls 

 into this latter class. In most cases these stands 

 are actually much less attractive to timber operators 

 than the second-growth sawlog-size uncut stands 

 of a similar mixture of species. 



In a general way, the area of old-growth uncut 

 timber in any given type shown in table 5 reflects 

 inversely the length of time the species in the type 

 have been commercially important in the unit. 

 The area in this condition in the mixed oak-mixed 

 hardwood type is very small because since early 

 days this type has been cut for its valuable white 

 oak, ash, and hickory. Later, the commercial 

 demand for cypress timber developed, reducing to 

 approximately 15,000 acres the old-grow^th uncut 

 condition in the cypress-tupelo type. Immediately 

 following the World War, the red gum and water 

 oaks, conspicuous in the red gum-water oak type, 

 became of major commercial importance in this 

 unit. Since these species are the most recent to 

 bear the brunt of comrriercial exploitation, a rela- 

 tively large area of uncut old growth remains in 

 this type. Inasmuch as overcup oak and bitter 

 pecan are still among the less desirable species, 

 the old-growth uncut area in this type remains large. 



Less than 5 percent of the total forest area is in 

 the reproduction and clear-cut conditions. This 

 indicates that commercial cutting in the delta hard- 

 woods is a selective process and that cut-over lands 

 invariably have a residual stand that prevents 

 their being classified as clear-cut areas. More than 



Table 5. — Distribution of total forest area by forest type and forest condition 



Forest condition 



Red gum- 

 water oak 



Hackberry 

 elm-ash 



Overcup 



oak-bitter 



pecan 



Cotton- 

 wood- 

 willow 



Cypress- 

 tupelo 



Water 

 oak 



Mi.xed 

 oak-mixed 

 hardwood 



Pine- 

 hard- 

 wood 



All types 



Old-growth: 



Acres 

 117,300 

 104, 700 



206, 700 

 66, 000 



148, 500 

 21, 100 

 17, 700 



Acres 

 57,300 

 186, 300 



76, 700 



21, 300 



60,700 



1,700 



Acres 

 369, 400 

 266, 500 



83, 900 

 11,800 

 56,000 

 12,000 

 7,600 

 5,100 



Acres 



120, 000 



9,500 



57, 600 



16,700 



3,400 



11,800 



Acres 

 14, 800 

 21, 000 



31,700 

 4,400 

 8,000 



Acres 

 16,300 

 74, 100 



48, 000 

 28, 700 

 27, 000 



Acres 

 '2,500 

 54, 700 



50, 600 

 48, 000 

 56,500 

 14,300 

 20, 200 



Acres 



Acres 

 577, 600 

 709, 000 



628,600 

 195, 600 

 421, 000 

 67, 500 

 57, 300 

 26, 200 



Percent 

 21.5 





1,700 



10, 900 

 5,900 

 6,700 

 1,700 

 1,700 



26.5 



Second-growth sawlog size: 



Uncut-, 



Partly cut 



23.4 

 7.3 



Second-growth under sawlog size 



Reproduction 



15.7 

 2.5 



5.900 

 9,300 



800 



2.1 





1.0 

















Total 



682, 000 



404, 000 



812, 300 



219, 000 



95, 100 



194, 900 



246, 800 



28, 600 



2, 682, 700 









All conditions (percent) 



25.4 



15.1 



30.2 



8.2 



3.5 



7.3 



9. 2 



1.1 





100.0 







' The sampling method used gave the areas shown : Estimates of small areas in the less common types and conditions may be in error; this 2,500 

 acres, for example, is known to be too small. 



14 



