ESTIMATES OF STANDING TIMBEE. 19 



live oak grows in almost pure stands. These oak ridges were re- 

 served more than a century ago for ship timbers, but were later 

 restored to the public domain. 



ESTIMATES OF STANDING TIMBER. 



The Bureau of Corporations of the Department of Commerce and 

 Labor has prepared a comprehensive estimate of the standing tim- 

 ber in the United States. In obtaining the necessary data a separate 

 estimate was secured from every owner of timber totaling 60,000,000 

 board feet, or more, and other estimates were made for the aggre- 

 gate of smaller holdings. The owners' estimates were checked with, 

 those of cruisers, county assessors, and others familiar with local 

 conditions. The estimates for small tracts were also checked in 

 every possible way. Where rectangular Government surveys had 

 been made the holdings of each individual were plotted on sheets 

 according to township and range to eliminate danger of duplication. 1 

 Since nearly all reports of standing timber were based on log scale, 

 the estimates were increased to allow for probable overrun at the 

 mill and offset general underestimation. For Louisiana a uniform 

 increase of 25 per cent was made. Only timber suitable for manu- 

 facture into lumber was included in the estimates. Table 1 gives the 

 amount of standing timber in Louisiana, as determined by the Bureau 

 of Corporations. 



Table 1. — Amount of standing timber in Louisiana,. 



Kind of timber. 



Board feet. 



Longleaf pine 



Shortleaf and loblolly pine. 



Cypress 



Hardwoods 



Total 



52,500,000,000 

 15,200,000,000 

 15,700,000,000 

 36,400,000,000 



119,800,000,000 



For the convenience of the Forest Service these estimates were 

 arranged according to groups of parishes corresponding as far as 

 possible with the forest regions just described. 



Division of the pine areas was comparatively simple, since in 

 Louisiana this timber is confined to three distinct groups of parishes 

 separated by the alluvial regions of the Mississippi and Red Rivers. 

 Table 2 shows the estimated stand of pine in accordance with this 

 division. The parishes contained in each group are shown on the 

 map (fig. 1). 



1 A map of west central Louisiana showing the timber holdings classified according to 

 ownership is published in " The Report of the Commissioner of Corporations on the 

 Lumber Industry, Part I — Standing Timber." 



