other products combined. Nearly 2 million man- 

 days were required to produce the fuehvood. Prac- 

 tically all of it was cut by farmers for home use. 



time oak was the species used most, folio-wed bv 

 hickory, chestnut, yellow-poplar, gum, maple, and 

 pine. 



Round and Split Mine Tinibers 



Coal mining has made the local forests more and 

 more important as a source of mine props and 

 shoring material. In 1948 the coal mines of Ken- 

 tucky used I614 million cubic feet of round and 

 split props, collars, and hewn ties. About 90 percent 

 of this volume was used in the Eastern Coal Field 

 region. The underground coal mines of this region 

 require about one-fourth of a cubic foot of round 

 or split wood for every ton of coal produced; the 

 Western Coal Field mines require only about one- 

 tenth of a cubic foot per ton. Variations in the rock 

 strata above the coal veins between the two regions 

 account for this difference. A new method of bolt- 

 ing the roofs of mines with metal pins may even- 

 tually redtice the amount of wood required. At 

 least one mining company is tising pins made of 

 hickory. 



Although large, high-quality timber is not re- 

 quired in the mines, the operators do cut heavily 

 in well-stocked hardwood pole stands. This prac- 

 tice may be adversely affecting the giowth of futtu e 

 high-quality stands. 



Though the stumpage value of these young 

 stands is low, the value of delivered mine props 

 compares favorably with that of other products 

 based on an equal volume of wood. The round and 

 split props produced in Kentucky in 1948 were 

 worth more than 4 million dollars. This amounts to 

 about 25 cents per cubic foot of wood used. 



Almost 200,000 nran-days were required to pro- 

 dtice mine props in Kentucky in 1948. Nearly all 

 of the wood used in Kentucky mines is produced 

 from local forests. The round and split wood is 

 produced by farmers, timber operators, and mine 

 employees. 



In addition to round or split wood, coal mines 

 require large amounts of lumber and other sawed 

 products such as caps, wedges, crossbars, and ties. 

 This is one outlet for much of the low-quality lum- 

 ber produced by Kentucky sawmills. According to a 

 1942 study by the United States Forest Service, 22 

 mines in West Virginia, Virginia, and eastern Ken- 

 tucky required an average of 1 14 board feet of 

 sawed wood for each ton of coal produced. At that 



Fence Posts 



More than 13 million fence posts, reqtiiring 10 

 million cubic feet of wood, were produced from 

 live timber in Kentucky in 1948. About 80 percent 

 of these posts Avere cut from pole-size trees, less than 

 10 percent from sa^vtimber-size trees, and the re- 

 mainder from saplings. Nearly half the posts -^vere 

 black locust, more than one-third were redcedar, 

 and the remainder were from other species. In addi- 

 tion to the posts cut from live timber, more than 

 half a million were cut from dead trees, mostlv 

 chestnut. Since most of the fence posts are produced 

 from locust and redcedar (species that seldom grow 

 to large size in Kentucky), cutting these trees does 

 not redtice the Aolume of potential high-quality 

 sawtimber. 



The total roadside valtie of these posts was nearh 

 31/2 million dollars, or about 33 cents per cubic 

 foot of wood. Only veneer logs and stave and handle 

 bolts brought more per cubic foot. Almost 169.000 

 man-da)s were required to cut these posts, and 

 farmers did most of the ^vork. 



Cooperage Stock 



Large, high-quality, white oak sawtimber is 

 needed to furnish barrels for the important -ivhisky 

 industry of Kentucky. White oak should be at least 

 16 inches in diameter before it is cut for cooperage 

 (fig. 32). Even then the trees mtist be straight- 

 grained and free of knots and other serious defects. 

 Such high-quality white oak is becoming increas- 

 ingly difficult to find. 



In 1948 approximately 44 million board feet of 

 oak from Kentticky forests was used by tight coop- 

 erage plants, 80 percent of it by plants in the State. 

 In addition several large distilling companies oper- 

 ate rough stave mills in adjoining States and ship 

 rough staves into Kentucky to be manufactured 

 into barrels. 



The stave bolts delivered to Kentucky mills in 

 1948 were worth about Si/o million dollars. The 

 value per cubic foot of wood (58 cents) ^vas the 

 greatest of anv product. Although stave bolts bring 

 a high price, tliey also require more lal)or per unit 



26 



Forest Resource Report Xo. 7. U. S. Department of Agriculture 



