operations disturb very little land. On the other 

 hand, much low-grade lumber is used for construction 

 and temporary roads while developing the oil fields. 

 Coal mining affects more acreage than mining for 

 other minerals and therefore has more influence on 

 forests. Coal is mined chiefly from a few counties in 

 southwestei-n Indiana bordering Illinois. The deep 

 coal mines use much roundwood and sawed material 

 for props and shoring. Areas strip-mined for coal 

 (fig. 5) are often suitable for growing timber. The 

 present area stripped for coal amounts to more than 

 50,000 acres and an additional 1,500 to 2,000 acres are 

 stripped each year. The Indiana Coal Association 

 has planted trees on more than 33,000 acres (fig. 6); 

 another 6,000 acres have restocked to trees naturally; 

 and nearly 6,000 acres have been seeded and restored 

 to pasture or other agricultural use. 



Manufacturing and Transportation 



Manufacturing has developed rapidly in Indiana 

 since 1900. About 35 percent of the State's income is 

 derived from manufacturing and 10 to 15 percent 

 from farming. 



Wood is important in Indiana manufacturing (fig. 

 7). More than 10 percent of the industries use wood 



in their products, and many more use wood in crating 

 and shipping. Indiana is noted for its veneer mills 

 and is one of the leading manufacturers of wood 

 furniture. In 1948, Indiana used 447 million board- 

 feet in manufacturing (5) — 26 percent for furniture 

 and 27 percent for containers (cooperage not in- 

 cluded). 



The total amount of wood used in manufacturing is 

 less than the annual growth of Indiana's forests, yet 

 only a small amount of it is grown locally. Forests 

 of this State cannot supply much of its requirement 

 for softwood lumber. Indiana has a large number of 

 veneer, furniture, and other manufacturers requiring 

 high-quality hardwood logs, but local forests can 

 supply only part of the oak, walnut, gum, and other 

 specialty woods required by these industries. Although 

 the forest area and timber stands are still adequate to 

 meet home requirements in volume, timber quality 

 has declined so much that these users of high-quality 

 logs must search several States to obtain the logs 

 they want. 



The various wood-using industries of this State 

 employ more than 30,000 workers of whom 20,000 

 are employed in the furniture industry alone. 



Indiana has excellent transportation facilities. Tim- 

 ber producers and wood-product manufacturers can 



I i 





^ 4 







Figure 5. — This area has recently been stripped for coal. Reclamation is being planned by the Indiana Coal Association. {Courtesy oj Indiana 



Coal Association.) 



^Indiana's Forest Resources and Industries 5 



377.309 — 56 2 



