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Ficure 7.—A forest survey plot in black spruce cordwood, running about 10 cords per acre. 
and thriftier trees are left for a future crop. How 
a selective cutting operates in a typical stand is 
illustrated in figure 6. The detail of such an 
operation is given in table 4. 
Thus far most stands have been clear cut; and 
the greater share of the reproduction stands is not 
yet beyond the cordwood class. Second-growth 
hardwood saw-timber areas total only 368,000 
acres, and the saw-timber volume on them at 
present averages only 4,300 board feet per acre. 
It is estimated that the second growth averages 
about 111 years, the cordwood 47 years, and the 
restocking stands 24 years. 
In the young second-growth and cordwood 
stands that make up the bulk of the present spruce- 
fir forests, balsam fir, quaking aspen, and paper 
birch are most prominent. Old-growth spruce-fir 
saw-timber stands have an average volume of 
5,810 board feet per acre. Cordwood stands 
10 
average 11.5 cords per acre, including about 4.1 
cords suitable for pulpwood. 
Conifer swamp forests probably rank second to 
the northern hardwoods in commercial value, on 
account of the demand for poles and pulpwood. 
Present cordwood stands of black spruce average 
9.9 cords per acre of all kinds of material, including 
about 5.9 cords suitable for pulpwood (fig. 7). 
Most of the pine forests are immature and under- 
stocked. Old growth remains on only 46,000 acres 
and second-growth saw timber on 41,000 acres, 
and these are in.scattered patches of which many 
are inaccessible (fig. 8). ‘The old growth averages 
only 8,000 board feet per acre, whereas stands of 
25,000 board feet were common in the original 
forest. Present second-growth averages only 3,500 
board feet per acre. The pine cordwood areas, 
amounting to 117,000 acres, half of which are 
dominated by jack pine, are likewise poorly stocked. 
