304 



TIMBER RESOURCES FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE 



Table 174. — Productivity oj recently cut private commercial Jorest land in the continental United States, by 



type and size class of ownership ^ 



Size and productivity classes 



Private 

 owner- 

 ships 



Forest industry 



Total 



Lumber 

 manu- 

 facturers 



Pulp 

 manu- 

 facturers 



Other 

 wood 

 manu- 

 facturers 



Farm 



Other 

 private 



Less than 5,000 acres: 



Upper 



Medium 



Lower 



5,000-50,000 acres: 



Upper 



Medium 



Lower 



More than 50,000 acres: 



Upper 



Medium 



Lower 



All size classes: 



Upper 



Medium 



Lower 



Percent 

 40 

 36 

 24 



64 

 26 

 10 



78 



18 



4 



56 

 29 

 15 



Percent 

 48 

 36 

 16 



74 



20 



6 



81 



17 



2 



77 



19 



4 



Percent 

 48 

 35 

 17 



74 



20 



6 



78 



19 



3 



73 

 21 



Percent 

 22 

 75 

 3 



79 



12 



9 



84 



15 



1 



84 



15 



1 



Percent 

 62 

 38 



73 



24 



3 



74 

 18 



73 

 23 



4 



Percent 

 40 

 38 

 22 



55 

 29 

 16 



84 

 16 



Percent 



41 

 37 

 22 



41 

 31 



28 



56 

 31 

 13 



69 

 21 

 10 



52 

 28 

 20 



* Recently cut lands (or operating area) in an ownership 

 is the area of forest types in which there was some commer- 



For the country as a whole, however, acceptable 

 plantations in 1952 totaled only 5.2 million acres, 

 while the plantable area amounted to about 52 

 million acres. The future need for planting applies 

 in all sections and all ownerships. 



Several Factors Favor Industrial 

 Forestry 



The rapid expansion of forestry programs by the 

 timber industries reflects an increasing recognition 

 of the present and prospective profitability of 

 timber growing in favorable areas. In addition, 

 in many cases companies with large investments 

 in pulp mills or other wood-using plants have been 

 acquiring land and adopting intensive programs 

 of tree planting and other forestry measures in 

 order to provide dependable future supplies of raw 

 materials. 



The increasing effectiveness of public fire control 

 programs has tended to stimulate tree planting 

 and other forestry efforts on private lands. Ade- 

 quate capital in general has been readily available 

 to the forest industries for land acquisition and 

 improvement. Stability of land tenure through 

 corporate organization, and integration of timber 

 growing with utilization in pulp mills and other 

 manufacturing plants, also represent significant 

 reasons for the widespread growth of industrial 

 forestry. 



Financial factors are also plaj-ing a part in the 

 development of industrial forestr3^ Capital gains 

 provisions, adopted in 1943, of the Internal 



cial cutting in the period 1947-54. 



Jlevenue Code have made timber growing more 

 attractive and have provided an important in- 

 centive for more aggressive forestry programs. 

 The tax amortization program, initiated at the 

 outbreak of the Korean War, permitted write-off 

 over a 5-year period of such part of the investment 

 in new industrial facilities as was certified as 

 essential to the national defense during the 

 emergency. As a result, rapid expansion of plant 

 capacity was encouraged. 



Local property taxes on forest land and timber 

 have in general been less onerous in recent 3^ears, 

 partly because such levies have tended to lag 

 behind the upward movement of timber values 

 and the general price level during inflationary 

 periods. Yield taxes and other special forest tax 

 laws favoring forest enterprise are in effect in 

 many of the States. 



Credit secured by forest land and timber is 

 becoming increasinglj^ available. A number of 

 life insurance companies in the forest credit field 

 make loans for terms up to 30 years. National 

 banks, under legislation adopted in 1953, are 

 authorized to make loans secured by forest tracts 

 for terms up to 10 years. 



Insurance of standing timber against loss by 

 fire has long been advocated as a stimulus to forest 

 credit and investment. During the past 2 years, 

 such insurance has for the first time been ag- 

 gressively promoted by a group of commercial 

 insurance underwriters. 



Outstanding progress luis been made by in- 

 dustries in the South and Pacific Northwest, 



