TABLE 12.—Major items of forest drain by region, 1944 
Section Fuel Pulp- Other Insects, 
and region Lumber wood wood commodi- Fire? disease, 
ties? etc? 
e Million Million Million Million Million Million Million Million 
North: bd. ft. cu. ft. cu. ft. cu. ft. cu. ft. bd. ft cu. ft. cu. ft. 
New/England |e pe sun ese: 864 201 194 54 82 3 5 125 
Middle Atlantic .” 1,361 313 224 52 204 23 18 35 
Take) seis eee noes Viel cay wine en 1,170 333 96 179 90 8 6 43 
Genitral ih sioee re Rises ie ee 1,479 395 380 32 291 102 57 46 
Plains karen. oe eMac an aetre 36 9 79 i 10 1 1 19 
SEO Call Sroee tir Sees ee eee nete erent 4,910 1,251 973 417 677 137 87 268 
South: ae ee 
SouthPAtlanticie: ee = et cere 3,536 707 373 166 133 48 24 193 
South easty este eee ee 6,867 1,356 498 257 473 229 149 289 
WrestiGul fii ser sera tene neice 3,819 774 298 152 398 156 107 113 
Totaly ctied0s 7 ii (oan pas 14,222 2,837 1,169 575 1,004 433 280 595 
West: 
Pacific;North west) see 22-5 ee 10,877 1,934 36 309 232 131 44 63 
Galiforniat pokes eee eee 2,496 372 2 22 91 29 65 
North Rocky Mtn. oo 1,499 246 19 5 20 61 17 9 
Souch@Rockyeiicny = nee 387 7 4 teen fs g z 2 
STO ta pects seit nee wear ee 15,259 2,623 61 314 281 289 93 156 
United'Statest 2ys= side Wen ees one 34,391 6,711 2,203 1,306 1,962 859 460 1,019 
*Veneer logs, hewn ties, mine timbers, fence posts, cooperage stock, shingles, and other small items. 
? Average volume destroyed annually, 1934-43. 
Pulpwood is a rapidly increasing element in 
drain (table 11] and fig. 8). In 1929 it totaled 4 
percent of the commodity drain; in 1936, 6 per- 
cent; and in 1944, 11 percent. This increase has 
been largely due to the rapid expansion of the 
pulp and paper industry in the South. Remarkable 
advances in adapting the sulfate pulping process 
(using pine) to a wide variety of important com- 
mercial products, have led to the erection or 
enlargement of some 20 mills in the South since 
1931 and additional units are under construction. 
Pulpwood drain in the South now exceeds that 
of the North by nearly 40 percent. It exceeds that 
of the West by over 80 percent (table 12). In the 
Pacific Northwest, however, is concentrated some 
309 million cubic feet, which is almost one-fourth 
the total for the country. 
Nearly nine-tenths of the pulpwood cut in the 
South is pine. In the North, spruce, fir, hemlock, 
and pine make up three-fourths. Pulpwood in the 
West is chiefly spruce, true fir, and hemlock. 
Although the specifications are more exacting 
than for fuel wood, more of the pulpwood also 
could be obtained from thinnings, improvement 
cuttings, and waste. As it is, however, all but a small 
fraction of the pulpwood cut is taken from the 
forest in harvest cuttings. 
30 
Other products——Whereas lumber, fuel wood, 
and pulpwood make up 84 percent of the total 
commodity drain, the remaining 16 percent com- 
prises more than 25 items including, in order of 
cubic volume cut annually, veneer logs, hewn ties, 
round mine timbers, fence posts, cooperage stock, 
and shingles. Although small in volume, poles for 
rural electric lines are an important item. The 
South accounts for more than half the drain in 
these miscellaneous items, the North one-third, 
and the West only one-seventh. 
Comparison of Growth and Drain 
Comparison of growth and drain is an instruc- 
tive but often overworked criterion of the Nation’s 
forest situation. Because of the great difference 
between regions as to forest conditions and stage 
of depletion, over-all figures may be misleading; 
and for the same reason regional figures should 
not be uniformly interpreted. Furthermore, it — 
would be of little value to balance growth and 
drain by bringing timber use down to the present 
inadequate level of growth. To fully meet national 
needs and objectives, as will be shown in the next 
chapter, it will be necessary to balance growth 
against a level of consumption and drain higher 
than at present. 
Miscellaneous Publication 668, U. 8S. Department of Agriculture 
Cuan 
