the 8-inch diameter class were cupped. There are 

 strong indications, however, that under the in- 

 fluence of the Naval Stores Conservation Program 

 the practice of cupping trees below 9 inches is 

 gradually being discontinued and that in recent 

 years the percentage of small trees cupped may 

 have been halved. 



Comparison of the number of cups hung on virgin 

 faces for the eight seasons of 1929-30 to 1936-37 is 

 shown in figure 20. The data, except for the 1 934- 

 35 season, are approximate only and are based upon 

 information from various sources. Despite the fact 



YEAR 









1929-30 



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1931-32 



— 1 



1932-33 



■B 









M^M^^M^ V///////////////////A 





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mmvw/Amm 









■■i««eMi 











MILLION CUPS 

 Round trees X^/////\ Resting trees 



Figure 20. — Number of cups hung on virgin faces, 1929-30 to 

 1936-37. 



that overproduction was one of the important 

 factors responsible for the serious condition of the 

 naval stores industry during the seasons of 1931-32 

 and 1932-33, approximately three times as many 

 virgin cups were hung in 1933-34 as in either of the 

 two preceding seasons. 



Resting and Worked-out Areas 



Areas which have been worked for at least one 

 set of faces but which will furnish a sufficient num- 

 ber of back faces for further operation, and areas 

 on which the trees of working size have been com- 

 pletely worked out, were grouped together in the 

 field classification. They occupy approximately 

 2 l / 2 million acres, or 32 percent of the turpentine 

 area. Approximately half of this area has an 

 average of 1 8 future back faces per acre in addition 

 to 6 round trees in the 1 0-inch diameter class, 1 1 in 

 the 8-inch class, and nearly 70 smaller. An addi- 



tional quarter of a million acres, which averages 

 12 round trees in the 8-inch and larger diameter 

 classes and almost 100 smaller round trees per 

 acre, will be ready for working in a few years. The 

 remaining acreage consists of young sapling, repro- 

 duction, clear-cut and seed tree, and intermingled 

 nonturpentine pine areas, which cannot be expected 

 to yield timber of turpentine size during the next 

 15 years or more. 



In 1934 there was a total stand of 13 million 

 worked-out trees on the resting and worked-out 

 area (table 9), which together with 10 million 

 worked-out trees on the back-faced working area 

 should be removed from the stand to reduce com- 

 petition for the remaining round, working, and 

 resting trees, as well as to make way for a new crop 

 of young growing stock. New markets for pulp- 

 wood throughout most of this region now furnish a 

 much needed outlet for these trees, which had an 

 aggregate volume of nearly 6 million cords. 



Future Timber Supply for 

 Gum Naval Stores 



In south Georgia the turpentine timber supply 

 has been more intensively used than in any other 

 part of the naval stores belt, and many operators 

 are now finding it increasingly difficult to obtain 

 well-located and contiguous stands of round timber 

 from which to meet their annual requirements 

 for new crops. Although at first glance the survey 

 results show enough round timber and partly 

 worked trees on hand and in sight to maintain 

 the industry at its present level or eventually to 

 increase its production, when the many factors 

 and circumstances that affect or limit the use of 

 this supply are considered, the situation is not so 

 favorable. 



It is estimated that the annual production of 

 gum naval stores in south Georgia for the 8 seasons 

 from 1929-30 to 1936-37, inclusive, averaged ap- 

 proximately 282,000 units. Assuming an average 

 annual gum yield of 43 units per crop, the total 

 working body in operation each year would aver- 

 age at least 65 million faces. It would require 

 the hanging of cups on approximately 6 million 

 round trees each year to offset the crops abandoned 

 and the constant shrinkage due to dry facing, tree 

 mortality, and other losses. 



30 



