| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
The near balance between all-timber drain (13.7 
billion cubic feet) and all-timber growth (13.4 bil- 
lion cubic feet) is deceptive (table 13). These 
figures mask the fact that for softwoods the drain 
is 21 percent more than growth, while for hard- 
woods it is 17 percent less. Furthermore, four- 
fifths of the drain is in saw timber. Saw-timber 
drain is more than 50 percent greater than saw- 
timber growth. The Nation should not be satis- 
fied with a balance based on poles and saplings 
when its forest industries depend so largely on 
saw timber. 
. TaBLe 13.—Comparison of timber growth and 
drain, 1944 
Saw timber All timber 
Species group 
and section Drain Drain 
Growth ratio2 |Growth} Drain |} patio 
Billion | Billion Billion | Billion 
All species: bd. ft bd. ft. | Percent | cu.ft. | cu. ft. | Percent 
INOrth ae 8.4 9.0 108 4.7 SET, 
Southys cree 19.9 24.9 125 6.4 6.5 101 
NWWies temieetie (an 7.0 | 20.0 285 2.3 3.5 152 
United States} 35.3 | 53.9 153 | 13.4 | 13.7 102 
Softwood: 
North ye s ik ce 2.0 3.0 150 1.0 1.0 96 
South 20... 12.9 | 15.6 121 3.5 aby 105 
IWIES bs whosta sone 6.9 | 19.9 287 2.3 3.5 155 
United States] 21.8 38.5 176 6.8 8.2 120 
Hardwood: 
North) ets 6.4 6.0 95 SET. 2], 74 
Souths cs 7.0 9.3 132 2.9 2.8 96 
Wiesttcn sane ay J Bl @i\o- @ 25 
United States] 13.5 | 15.4 114 6.6 5.5 83 
+Computed before rounding data to tenths of billions. 
*0.05 or less. 
In the West, drain is much greater than growth 
(fig. 9), but the virgin timber eases the situation 
there for the present. Nevertheless, hard times will 
come for dependent communities unless the virgin 
stands are cut at a rate and in a manner that will 
promote future growth. Without good forest prac- 
tice and farsighted planning for both private and 
public lands, waning of the virgin timber may 
usher in a long period when there will not be 
enough saw timber to fully sustain the timber in- 
dustries. This has already happened in some lo- 
calities, notably around Puget Sound in western 
Washington and Klamath Falls in central Oregon. 
In the North, saw-timber drain is only 7 percent 
more than saw-timber growth; drain. for all tim- 
ber is 21 percent less than growth. Yet the forest 
situation is more acute than in the other sections. 
Largely as a result of the advanced stage of forest 
Forests and National Prosperity 
depletion and deterioration, many of the older 
wood-using plants have been forced out of business 
and the shortage of good timber makes it difficult 
for new plants to start. The excess of all-timber 
growth over drain is a reflection of the inferior 
quality and small size of a large part of the timber. 
Growth on timber of this character is a doubtful 
asset. In fact, one of the major forest problems of 
the North is to find markets for the small low- 
grade timber which should be gotten out of the 
way to make room for more valuable growth. 
ia 
SOFTWOOD HARDWOOD 
North 
United States 
(See ene) PRE 
40 30 20 10 ° 10 20 30 40 
BILLION BOARD FEET 
Wl Growth 
a4 Drain 
aes Se ee 
FicurE 9.—Annual growth and drain of saw timber, United 
States, 1944. 
In the South all-timber drain is not far out of 
balance, but saw timber—both hardwood and soft- 
wood—is being cut much faster than it is growing. 
These trends, if continued, mean an increasing 
shortage of good timber and a serious handicap 
to the timber industries. 
A Twenty-Year Projection 
What has been happening to our saw-timber 
supply may be emphasized by theoretically pro- 
jecting 1944 drain and cutting practices ahead for, 
say, 20 years. Actually, of course, the increasing 
difficulty of obtaining timber, especially in the 
North and South, makes it unlikely that the forest 
industries could produce for long at the 1944 rate. 
31 
