The wide distribution and the growing use of electric 

 energy in North Carolina emphasizes the importance of the 

 complementary relation between the forest resource and 

 electric power. Forests benefit hydroelectric development 

 by equalizing stream flow, by controlling erosion on water- 

 sheds, and by reducing sedimentation in stream beds 

 and storage reservoirs. On the other hand, electric power is 

 ideal for small wood-using plants making various kinds of 

 special products. The increased availability of electricity 

 should encourage development of such plants in rural sec- 

 tions with suitable wood resources. The construction and 

 maintenance of many thousand miles of rural power line 

 also creates a market for locally grown pine poles. In the 

 5 years ending in June 1940, approximately 420,000 poles 

 had been used in the construction of rural electric power 

 lines in North Carolina. 



Transportation 



An adequate system of transportation is particularly 

 necessary for the utilization ol the forest resource, which 

 is spread thinly over many acres, is heavy and bulky, is 

 often remanufactured several times, and may be consumed 

 hundreds of miles from its origin. Highways, railroads, 

 and waterways are all commonly used in the movement of 

 forest products, and North Carolina has a good transpor- 

 tation system including all three. 



Large-scale construction of highways began about 1920. 

 In the following 16 years more than $200,000,000 was in- 

 vested in a State highway system that included a network 

 of 5 8,000 miles of highway, about 9,000 miles of which were 

 main highways with all-weather surface. 



Motor transportation expanded rapidly. In 1938 more 

 than 76,000 trucks ot all types were registered in the State 

 and at least 130 motor freight lines were operating. Trucks 

 haul large quantities ot lumber trom North Carolina to 

 consuming centers in the Northeast and they are also used 

 to transport logs and bolts from the woods to local 

 wood-using plants. Various lumber dealers and railroad 

 officials have estimated that 85 percent ol the lumber 

 shipped from the piedmont to Washington, Baltimore, and 

 Philadelphia is moved by truck (fig. 8). Delivery by motor 

 truck has the advantages ot speed, flexibility, unit ship- 

 ment, 3 and saving ot drayage fee. Lumber trucks opera- 

 ting out of Washington, D. C, can obtain a load of lumber 

 from Raleigh, N. C, in 24 hours compared to 3 days by 



3 Ernst, W. Jr. an analysis of motor truck, transportation of 



LIMBER TO NORTHERN CONSUMING MARKETS FROM CENTRAL NORTH CARO- 

 LINA. 1941. [Unpublished thesis. Copy on file at Duke University, 

 Durham, N. C] 



Figure 8. — Truck carrying 12 M board feet of North Carolina lumber to 

 Washington, D. C, a trip of 375 miles. 



rail. In housing construction, all the material for a house 

 can be delivered in one load. Motortruck tariffs per 100 

 pounds ot lumber are almost identical with rail tariffs be- 

 tween the same points and in a few cases are a few cents 

 higher, but the drayage fees saved vary from $1 to $1.50 

 per M board feet. 



The improvement of highway transport, as well as a 

 decreased supply ot timber, has had its influence upon the 

 railroads of North Carolina. Between 1920 and 1937 the 

 railway mileage decreased from 5,522 to 4,764 miles. The 

 Norfolk Southern Railroad, operating between Norfolk, 

 Ya., and Charlotte, N. C, carried 695,000 tons of forest 

 products in 1920 but only 377,000 tons in 1938; even so, 

 forest products made up 17 percent of the 1938 total. 



The navigable waterways of North Carolina, restricted 

 to the Coastal Plain, carry only small quantities of forest 

 products from the woods to the mills. Pulpwood is barged 

 to Plymouth, sawlogs to Belhaven, Washington, Bridgeton, 

 and New Bern, and veneer bolts to Wilmington. Finished 

 lumber is also shipped by water from Elizabeth City to 

 northern markets. Small shipments north may be made 

 from Wilmington, but it is safe to assume that these are 

 unimportant. In 1936, 7,000 tons of West Coast lumber 

 entered through this point. 



Land Use 



When the first colonists came to North Carolina, nearly 

 300 years ago, practically all ot the land was forested. 

 Since then agriculture has become the most important in- 

 dustry in furnishing employment, directly supporting 46 

 percent of the population and producing crops valued at 

 $361,000,000 annually, but even now only one-third ot the 

 land is used tor cultivated crops (table 3). 



IO 



