Table 16. — Forest areas and volume in the farming area, by major forest types 



Forest type 



Sugar maple-beech-yellow birch 

 Aspen-gray birch-pin cherry 



White pine-hemlock 



White pine-white oak-red oak . . 

 Red oak-black oak-white oak . . . 



Chestnut oak 



Scrub oak 



Total 



Forest area 



Acres 

 538, 900 



3,600 



126, 100 



452, 700 



348. 500 



40. 600 



6,600 



1,523,800 



Percent 

 35 



(') 



8 



30 



23 



3 



0) 



100 



Sawlog material 



M bd.Jt. 



538, 700 



200 



227, 800 



282, 200 



207. 800 



10.300 



100 



1. 272. 700 



Percent 

 43 



« 



18 



22 



16 



1 



0) 



100 



Other material 



Tons 



5, 909, 600 



24, 400 



1, 150,700 



3,315,000 



2,813,700 



199, 500 



3, 900 



13,478,400 



Percent 



44 



(') 



9 



25 



21 



1 



0) 



100 



1 Negligible. 



Hardwoods other than oaks and hard maple 

 predominate in both saw-timber and pole-timber 

 stands. In the saw-timber stands the estimated 

 volumes are: 



Al board feel 



Conifers 166,200 



Oaks and hard maple 122,800 



Other hardwoods 229,900 



All species 518,900 



In pole-timber stands the relative volumes are: 



Tons 



Conifers 588,800 



Oak and hard maple 2,104,700 



Other hardwoods 2, 775, 800 



All species 5,469,300 



The species in the pole-timber stands are much the 

 same as the species in the saw-timber stands, and have 

 a similar geographical distribution. 



Although it comprises less than a third of the total 

 forest land in the farming area, the forest land owned 

 by farmers is by far the most important economically. 

 These woodlands fill the farmers' timber needs. They 

 provide a source of income when timber is sold for 

 stumpage. They provide a considerably larger in- 

 come when the farmers do their own logging and thus 

 save the labor costs on the operation. 



These farm woodlands vary in size from 2 to 3 

 acres to several hundred. Usually they form an in- 

 tegral part of the farm though they are sometimes 

 independent plots of land at some distance from the 

 rest of the farmer's property. A few of these farm 

 woodlands are stands of virgin timber, uncut rem- 

 nants of the original forest cover; but most are second- 

 or even third-growth stands. Many are used for 

 grazing, and the reproduction is poor (fig. 34). Some 

 have been only partially cut over, and now support 

 trees of varying ages; many others have been clear- 



cut, and even-aged stands of all ages are to be found 

 throughout the area. Fire is infrequent in these 

 woodlands, and they have suffered little damage from 

 fire. 



Growth and Drain. 



Because the forests of the farming area are in much 

 better condition than those in the coal fields, they 

 have been subjected to heavier cutting during the 

 recent war years. This has been especially true of 

 the saw-timber stands, which have been seriously 

 overcut. In 1943 the saw-timber drain on these 

 stands was a third larger than the growth (table 17). 

 On the other hand, the unmerchantable stands are 

 growing up into the pole-timber classification faster 

 than merchantable stands are reverting to unmer- 

 chantable status through cutting, and the pole-timber 

 stands themselves show an excess of growth over drain. 

 As a result of this increase in volume in the pole- 

 timber stands, the total timber volume in the area is 

 increasing. 



What are the prospects for the next 10 to 20 years? 

 It is doubtful if the drain on the saw-timber stands of 

 this area will continue at the 1943 level during this 

 period. Stands that were allowed to develop un- 

 hampered for decades with only the occasional re- 

 moval of material to meet farm needs were cut during 

 the war. The larger trees with high-quality sawlogs 

 were sought during the war and cut at a rate far 

 exceeding that of replacement. Smaller sawlog ma- 

 terial will gradually become more plentiful as the 

 younger stands grow into saw-timber size, but it is 

 doubtful if they will be desired to any great extent by 

 the markets of the next two decades. The prospects 

 are, therefore, that the stands of the farming area will 

 contain considerably more volume of sawlog material 

 20 years hence and that smaller material will also be 

 plentiful. 



46 



Miscellaneous Publication 648, U. S. Department of Agriculture 



